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FAQs About our Online Mass
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Dear Friends,
Thank you for your interest in our parish's celebration of the Mass online! St. Thomas the Apostle is a large parish with more than 2,500 households, a school, and a large cemetery.
We are happy that our online Mass has been a blessing to so many people around the globe, and it has been wonderful to hear from so many people.
Our staff receives MANY notes of thanks, questions, comments, and even requests for changes to our Mass to fit individual preferences. We read them, and we are grateful for your interest and the many expressions of thanks we receive. Unfortunately, however, because of the sheer number of messages connected to the YouTube Mass, it is not possible for us to respond to them and still be attentive to the needs of our parish community.
We hope the questions and answers below will be helpful to you.
1. Q. How long will you be posting Mass online?
A. At the current time, there are no plans to end our YouTube Mass.
2. Q. How can I have the YouTube Mass offered for a particular intention?
A. Currently, all Sunday and Daily YouTube Mass intentions for 2022 have been taken.
3. Q. How can I watch the Mass on my iPhone or Android phone?
A. Go to your app store, download the YouTube app onto your device. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and choose the option to be notified whenever we post our online Mass or other videos.
4. Q. I don't have a Missalette; how can I follow along with the Mass?
A. For Daily Mass, we recommend opening a second browser window and clicking on this link so that you may still see the Mass and follow along with the text.
5. Q. What is the name of the opening/closing hymn? What are the lyrics?
A. "Come, Thou Almighty King" (attributed to Charles Wesley)
Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us thy name to sing,
Help us to praise!
Father all glorious,
O'er all victorious!
Come and reign over us,
Ancient of days!
6. Q. What is the name of the Communion hymn? What are the lyrics?
A. "Panis Angelicus"Latin:
Panis Angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.
Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.
English:
Thus Angels' Bread is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.
Thee, therefore, we implore,
O Godhead, One in Three,
so may Thou visit us
as we now worship Thee;
and lead us on Thy way,
That we at last may see
the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.
Amen.7. Q. Why do you almost always use the same hymns?
A. We have run into copyright issues almost every time we have tried to expand the music choices we use on our online Mass. Unfortunately, whenever this happens, whether or not the copyright claim is valid (and it often is not), it causes ads to be shown during Mass and takes hours to remedy.
8. Q. What image is displayed on the screen during the Communion hymn? Is there a way for me to get a copy of it?
A. We found the image online when we began to add music and graphics to our online Mass. We have no idea where it is from, precisely what medium it is, or who the artist is. However, you may download a jpeg file by clicking here.
9. Q. Why do you use the Apostles' Creed instead of the Nicene Creed at Sunday Mass?
A. The Roman Missal indicates that the Apostles' Creed may be used in place of the Nicene Creed, especially during Lent and Easter. We prefer the Apostles' Creed.
10. Q. In our parish, we (insert liturgical practice here). Will you do this?
A. While the Mass is the same everywhere, the Roman Missal provides options for different prayers and hymns that are used differently in particular parishes (i.e., choices for different prayers for the Penitential Rite, a choice between the Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed, the Eucharistic Prayer and a few others). Within this context, every parish has its traditional preferences. We are happy to share ours with you as we worship together.
11. Q. Why are personal pronouns for God not capitalized in the texts used in the graphics during Mass?
A. The reason the personal pronouns that refer to God are not capitalized on the graphics we show during Mass is that they are not capitalized in the Roman Missal (sacramentary) nor the official Lectionary of the Church (although the Lectionary does frequently capitalize all the letters in the word LORD). Therefore, while capitalizing personal pronouns for God is a practice that some people follow, we adhere to reproducing prayers and readings for graphics as they appear in the official publications of the Church.
12. Q. Why is it that sometimes the color on the screen seems to change when the priest is at the pulpit?
A. This is caused by the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows, especially on a day when the sun keeps coming in and out of the clouds. Also, when snow is on the ground, the sun reflects very brightly and is noticeable at the pulpit.
13. Q. Why is closed captioning for the hearing-impaired sometimes unavailable?
A. There are two answers to this question: Most often, the option has been changed on an individual viewer's computer, device, or app. On a very rare occasion, for whatever reason, YouTube has not made them available. We always ensure that the option to produce closed captioning is available when uploading the Mass to YouTube. However, a couple of times, the captioning has not been available. This is not under our control.
14. Q. Technical questions/requests/suggestions…
A. Our online Mass is recorded using an iPhone at the altar and an iPad at the pulpit, and we are recording the Mass in a church, not a studio. We have no special lighting or sound equipment. So, honoring requests for different camera angles, lighting, and sound options is not possible.
15 Q. Can I get a copy of the Prayer for the Year of the Eucharist?
A. Yes, please click here.