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For the first time, priest A. Toliatas demonstrated how to adapt to the challenges of limitations. The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Consoler in the old town was one of the first to organize mass broadcasts on the Internet during the quarantine last year.
Now that during both Holy Week and Easter, the believers in the house of prayer are unable to attend Mass again, Tolyat creatively solved the problem. Already last Sunday he blessed the people of Vilnius during mass, who drove 55 cars to the courtyard of the Augustinian monastery near the church.
The priest consecrated the verbs and tomorrow, during Easter, he also intends to celebrate the meals that the faithful bring in cars.
Sanitized hands for everyone
On Wednesday night, the most loyal believers gathered in a parking lot near the church, briefly named Raminto.
Gusts of wind shook the tin roof, the raven screamed from time to time, a plane passed through the towers of the Missionary Church and the sound of the mass broadcast from the cars.
To attend Mass, several believers came and walked, watching the broadcast on their phones. At the end of them, A. Toliatas appeared, accompanied by two servants.
First, one of the escorts disinfected the hands of all those gathered. Only then did the priest distribute Communion on the palms of his hands.
Among those gathered for the unusual mass in the cars was Eimantas Anskaitis, the director of the Ramintoja Church Choir, with his wife Rita.
The family did not miss any mass in the cars, but on Wednesday, during a prayer, the believers also noticed in the cemetery near the church of San Pedro and San Pablo.
“Everyone who gathers here is family, all the parishioners. We wish each other through the glass of the car, wishing each other peace, and we will do the same during Easter,” said E. Anskaitis.
He was not optimistic: believers in churches will probably only be admitted when they get vaccinated or most get sick.
Borrowed the concert idea
“The number of diseases is increasing, so the services will be held temporarily without believers. Until this order is reached, we invite everyone to come to the Plaza de la Tranquility for the prayer cars”, A. Toliatas invited the believers last week.
He indicated that the firewall would be lifted and waiters would help park the cars. By the way, the entrance to the parking lot is not from Savičiaus street, where the church is located, but from Bokšto street.
Toliat made no secret that he borrowed the idea from the movie screenings, Drive In concerts last year, which the public heard in the cars: “I think it’s a great idea. Live broadcasts of the Mass remain, and believers can watch them in cars or on laptops, and wish each other peace through glass, thought, or gaze. “
The priest said that the most important reason for inviting to meet in this way is Communion.
It is an opportunity to attend Mass and receive the Blessed Sacrament while maintaining a safe distance and without endangering.
Toliat recognized that this was a temporary measure. It will remain in effect as long as live meetings are prohibited.
Exceptional cases recalled
How did Toliat feel when sacrificing such an unusual mass to share Communion and bless the faithful who did not get out of the cars?
According to the interlocutor, it has been a year to offer mass in an empty church. In addition to the priest, only the singer and the ministers are present.
The priest was glad that the parking lot next to the church was large and could accommodate more than fifty cars. In general, almost all the faithful who meet with them ask for Communion.
He supported the idea that such Masses could be offered to believers seated in cars in larger spaces, such as parking lots near the Litexpo exhibition center: “Of course, Masses are inseparable from sacred spaces, but there are exceptional cases.
When Pope John Paul II arrived in Lithuania, the altar was erected on the Hill of Crosses. After all, as many people as they wanted to attend mass would not fit into any church. “
Toliat admitted that he suggested flashing contract signs on car lights to ensure that believers did not lose their sense of humor, even in difficult situations.
“We visited all the cars that needed it and we got it,” smiled the priest.
Choose an airfield
It is true that in this way the Mass was already sacrificed last year. But only once.
For the first time in the history of Lithuania, they were held at the airfield of the Bistrampolis mansion (Panevėžys district) during Advent.
The mass was offered by Virginijus Veilentas, chief chaplain and pilot of the Ordinariate of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Such an invitation to come and participate in the massive cars was given by the team of the Bistrampolis mansion and the inventor of the idea, the priest Rimantas Gudelis.
“In Vilnius, people are invited to Drive In cinema screenings: the film can only be viewed from the car, and we invite you to participate in the mass offering at the airfield of the mansion without leaving the car.
Something very important is the health and safety of people, said R. Gudelis about the idea. – After all, man is a social being, and quarantine has limited many things. Everyone lacks social action, and that mass is social action ”.
Sacrifices for the doctors were collected during that mass.
In addition, a cross was displayed during the sacrifice, the Suffering of Christ, which was found in 1969 in the Šimonys forest, in partisan winter. The find was donated to the Bistrampolis mansion as a relic.
V. Veilentas, who offered mass at the stately airfield, joked that this is exactly where the sky rises from. On the other hand, if you can watch a movie from the car, you can also attend mass this way.
Archbishop: “Open Church Doors”
Mass in the churches of the Vilnius archdiocese with believers has not been sacrificed since March 25. They will not take place until the second day of Easter.
“I ask a lot of each one of you: come to your parishes to pray in private, make a confession or arrange a spiritual conversation with a priest, accept the Blessed Sacrament. The priests are waiting for you. The churches are open, ”recalled the Archbishop of Vilnius Gintaras Grušas.
For believers to be able to pray at home, many churches in Vilnius conduct mass broadcasts online.
Confession: sitting behind the wheel of a car
The clergy are not lacking in wit. American priest Scott Holmer has creatively solved the dilemma of how to ensure the safety of believers during a confession.
The pastor of St. Eduard Confessional Parish in the Archdiocese of Washington almost became a star when parishioners distributed a photograph of him hearing confessions from parishioners in a self-service auditorium.
“As I cannot guarantee the physical safety of the visitors when the church or office opens, I have installed a passing auditorium and I will hear their confessions in the parking lot of the parish,” explained the priest.
Holmer hears confessions on the floor at the same time as he listens to the church. He warns that the confession would have to be postponed until the next day if it started to rain heavily.
The ministry is assisted in this service by seminarians who regulate traffic and ensure that all visitors are safe.
