 The Roman Catholic authorities recently published two new liturgical texts in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The first is a votive Mass "in the time of pandemic", and the second is a an addition to the Solemn Collects of Good Friday.
You can find the votive Mass here, along with the accompanying decree here. The lessons are in Latin on page 3, and the other parts of the liturgy are in English on page 8. According to pages 16 and 17 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, such a votive Mass may be used daily in the near future, except Principal Feasts, Sundays, Holy Days, weekdays in Holy Week, and the Triduum. The addition to the Good Friday liturgy can be found here (page 4), and the Vatican's decree is here. Should you wish to use this on Good Friday, I recommend that you ask your bishop for permission. Because we use Rite I at St. Mary's, I've adapted these resources into traditional language here. A brief word of commentary: Despite the fact that the votive Mass was created due to "requests...to be able to celebrate a specific Mass to implore God to bring an end to this pandemic," the liturgical text doesn't contain a direct request to God to intervene to end the pandemic. That is unfortunate in my mind. That said, I'm not comfortable with some of the language in the older "Votive Mass for the Deliverance from Death in Time of Pestilence" - particularly the Collect: "O God, who willest not the death of the sinner but that he should repent: welcome with pardon Thy people’s return to Thee: and so long as they are faithful in Thy service, do Thou in Thy clemency withdraw the scourge of Thy wrath." It will be important to emphasize to the faithful (perhaps in the sermon) that your specific Mass intention is for God to intervene to bring an end to this awful plague. |