In line with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released the National advice on liturgical implications in light of coronavirus (COVID-19) The advice includes the following
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All Ministers of Holy Communion should take particular care to wash their hands before and after distributing. Appropriate means should be made available.
The coronavirus is easily spread through saliva. In celebrations of the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite, it is therefore recommended that the Body of Christ only be administered in the hand because of the high risk of transmission if people continue to receive on the tongue. Ministers should seek to avoid contact with the communicant's hands.(Er, am I the only one who is perplexed as to why a communion minister would even want to reach down to attempt contact with a communicant's hand)
In political and social circles around the English speaking world the appropriate time allowed for a decent hand wash is 20 seconds or the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice as demonstrated in this clip.
Such frivolity hardly seems appropriate in Liturgical settings and as the opening clip shows a decent doxology would do the job.However I am well aware that the average parish does not usually run to SATB settings for its music so here are a few suggestions.
For the standard Novus Ordo Mass in the suburban parish I suggest two verses of the good old Aussie hymn, Go Now You Are Sent Forth
Dear me, whatever did happen to Leo Watt,our favourite singing Franciscan?
For those who prefer a bit more solemnity at their Novis Ordo I suggest some pretty vigorous hand-washing to your favourite verse of Now Thank We All Our God:
For the Saturday Masses and those with a Marian theme a gentle hand washing and massage to the lyrical On This Day
As you would expect the Extraordinary Rite of hand washing calls for an extraordinary long piece:
And in case you get caught with the odd full blown Pontifical Mass you could always give your hands a jolly decent work out while singing along to Palestrina.NB Congregational hand clapping is an optional extra!!!
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