Sunday, March 22, 2020 –
For many of us, this is the first Sunday we’ve been away from public Mass during this crazy time. It feels different than the times I’ve missed Mass for being ill…very different.
Andrew and I got up at our normal time, ate breakfast, and put on our Church clothes. Now we’re waiting for the live stream to come on. It’s surreal. It’s a bit depressing. It’s weird wearing shoes and my veil in my own house.
Anyhow, we’re determined to keep holy the Sabbath. Last night after compline, we sat down and made our Sunday plan. We are trying to keep any sort of “normalcy” we can.
To that end, I commandeered our dining room as a dedicated “chapel” of sorts and set up our home altar. It’s nothing fancy, but it is a dedicated prayer space.
How does one set up a home altar? First, it doesn’t have to be fancy. Ours is literally a Crucifix on a hacked mini Ikea desk pulled from our guest room, a random white cloth that happens to have a lovely lace border, and a couple of taper candles. I also washed off our garden kneelers because we have hardwood floors.
Given the current state of things, I picked a table big enough to hold a laptop and a Crucifix. I also have a brass teaching Mass kit I used in CCD, so I pulled the red sanctuary lamp to light during Mass and the snuffer…because we’re traddy like that! Andrew said “no” to the mini thurible.
Generally, we are using our sick kit Crucifix, but it is a bit large and doesn’t really fit with the laptop. Once it hit home we might be here a while, a new, dedicated table Crucifix was ordered. It is coming…someday…when deliveries reach our tiny hamlet.
So far, we’ve found the home “chapel” comforting. It is helping us get into a pattern, especially since our priest and Diocese started posting set times for various Masses, prayers, Stations, etc. It’s not pretty, and I’m not loving the new “normal,” but we are doing the best we can in these strange times.
Saint Pius X, pray for us!
