As many of you will have heard there will not be Mass over the coming weeks, however, the Cathedral is still open. Today we share a video from Cardinal Vincent Nichols who explains how we can still keep God at the centre of our lives, below that there are answers to some questions from our parish newsletter.
Some questions answered- from the Parish Newsletter
*Will our churches still be open even though there will be no public masses?
The Cathedral will remain open daily, generally between 10.00am and
6.00pm. We will try to maintain these opening times for the duration of
the current situation but sometimes circumstances might arise that cause
the times to vary. Your understanding in this is appreciated.
Please do make use of the Cathedral as a space for private prayer at this
difficult time. (Reminder: all recommendations regarding hand hygiene and
personal distancing should be observed.)
* I have already requested that a mass be said for a particular reason. Will
that mass still be said?
Yes, the mass will be said but under the current restrictions there can be
no congregation present.
* I’ve always understood that we have an obligation to attend mass on
Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Is this still the case?
As the Bishops of England and Wales have said, this obligation is being
suspended for the duration of the current health emergency.
* Are there any ways in which I can somehow ‘attend’ mass during this time
of restriction?
If you have access to the internet, there are several websites that carry ‘live
streaming’ of mass from churches around the world.
There is one church
within our own Diocese– Christ the Good Shepherd, Workington - Sunday at 10.30am and 6,00pm
Some other websites that
stream masses are : Church Services TV Catholic TV and a page from Aid to the Church in Need with links to online Masses and copy of Spiritual Communion. A chance to go to Mass all around the country.
* Holy Week is nearly here. What will happen about Holy Week services?
We are awaiting advice from the Bishops Conference about Holy Week
services. There will undoubtedly be services live streamed. While we do
not have this facility at the Cathedral, we are in the process of putting plans
in place to record services and upload them to Youtube and Instagram.
Keep checking our website and newsletters for updated details.
* There are no masses. Will there still be Confessions?
Current advice is that confession will only be by prior arrangement with the
priest.
* Hopefully this will not happen, but what should I do if I have to be admitted
to hospital or if a family member is admitted to hospital?
The appropriate procedure is the same as the one that is already in place.
On admission to hospital, you will be asked a number of questions, one of
which should be about what faith denomination should be included in your
official records. It is vital that, at this point, you ensure that you nominate
as Roman Catholic and request that this information be passed on to the
hospital chaplaincy team. This will alert the team to your presence in the
hospital. Should the patient’s condition become life threatening, either the
patient or his or her next of kin should ask the ward staff to page the on call Catholic chaplain