As 46 parishes, 13 schools, and many ministries in 21 counties across our Diocese prepares for harsh winter weather, this a reminder to our more than 70,000 parishioners that no Catholic is obligated to attend Vigil or Sunday Masses, if road or weather conditions are unsafe. No dispensation is needed.
Specific weather conditions and accessibility may vary considerably across our parishes in West Tennessee. Sunday Masses are not usually canceled due to snow. However, a Pastor may be forced to cancel Masses if he or another Priest cannot safely get to the parish for a scheduled Mass. This is especially the case for parishes where a Priest does not live on-site or if a visiting Priest is filling in for a Pastor who is away from the parish. Please contact your parish office to inquire about possible Mass cancellations. If there is ice, snow, etc. and it is not safe to drive to Mass, please stay home and do not attempt to come to Mass.
Though online or televised Masses cannot take the place of attending Mass, all who are unable to attend are still encouraged to watch a livestream of Mass online. Several parishes in our Diocese regularly livestream Masses through their Facebook and/or Website. In addition, EWTN provides Sunday Mass livestreams at 7:00am (central) with encores throughout the day and Daily Mass at 7:00am (central) with encores at 11:00am and 6:00pm (central). These services are available on EWTN TV and Website at: https://www.ewtn.com/tv/watch-live/united-states and EWTN YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbkqRY8d0zg7xJPuDRDnDpQ. Masses are also available on-demand at: https://www.ewtn.com/…/how-can-i-watch-ewtn-if-i-dont…. Daily Mass is also available on-demand at: https://ondemand.ewtn.com/…/video/en/daily-catholic-mass.
There are also opportunities to: https://www.usccb.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary or https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and…/liturgy-of-the-hours and https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012526.cfm. As always, please stay connected to Diocese, Parish, and School Flocknotes, Social Media, Websites, and other Communications platforms on Masses, Closures, and other related activities.
Most importantly, please stay safe with family, friends and many more and join Bishop David P. Talley and our Diocese in praying for the safety of all members of our beautiful West Tennessee community and throughout the country, especially emergency personnel and those who may be at greater risk because of the severe weather.
