Praying at home on Sunday when you cannot go to Mass

There are times in every Catholic's life when they cannot get to Sunday Mass, even though they want to.

Right now, this is true in many places because of the Covid-19 corona virus.   But there can be many other reasons, eg not enough priests, travel distance / lack of transport / broken down car, work schedules, sickness - and  more.

In response to Covid-19, many parishes and dioceses are live-streaming Masses, or broadcasting them on radio.   For some people these are spiritually helpful, and comforting.

• The best way to find a Mass that is live-streamed on the internet is to look on your church or diocese website or Facebook page.
• Alternatively, Church Services TV has an ever-growing list of churches in the UK, Ireland, Scotland and even the USA, which they provided live-streamed CCTV from.
• The best way to find a broadcast Mass on radio or TV is to check your local guide.

However not everybody finds that broadcast Masses help them to pray:  some people find them distracting, banal and disrespectful.

Below is a list of other resources which may be helpful if you want or need to pray at home instead

Prayers at home when gathering for Mass is not Possible

A booklet with all the word of a complete prayer service, prepared by a diocese in Ireland

This includes some standard readings, but suggests using the readings of the Mass-of-the-day if you can find them.

Catholic Icing - Weekly Mass for Kids

A list of suggestions from an American website mainly for homeschooling mothers.

Liturgy of the Hours / The Divine Office

This is the church's official prayer:  it is a set of times, prayers, readings and hymns which is used by priests, nuns / sisters / brothers / monks, and some lay people with a particular interest in prayer and spirituality.

Some people think that it should also be the first option when people pray in a regular / formal way without a priest - and some communities do this.    But it's not for beginners:  even if you get hold of a set of books, it's complicated to follow and can be overwhelming.

If you do want to pray the Liturgy of the Hours ( LOTH):

• The Universalis website is one on-line starting point

• The Breviary Hymns website is helpful for finding settings of the hymns which are part of each prayer.

Pray the Rosary

Some people find that the rosary is a better option for them:  they can say the prayers from memory, it doesn't matter if they cannot find their glasses, or cannot read very well.

Read more about praying the Rosary.

Holy Week at Home

A series of videos from an English priest, setting out a home-based approach to the Easter liturgies, from Palm Sunday through to Holy Thursday (at present - likely to be extended through to Easter Sunday).




Do you know of any other resources which are not specific to any particular diocese?   Leave a message in the comments box below to share them.