There are two stages to Mass setup that evening. One immediate and one remote.
The immediate goes after takedown following Benediction. Benediction is at 5:45 PM. It cannot be later else 6:00 PM Mass will start late. Takedown and setup—let's call this the transition into the evening Mass needs to be as simplified as possible. The complete put away of benediction can happen after Monday morning Mass, although it shouldn't be that complicated.
Transition involves:
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| "Dream of the Palace" Giotto |
Cope
Humeral veil
Thurible and stand
Monstrance
Altar Crucifix
Typical Mass on High Altar
For this transition to happen in less than 10 minutes there needs to be complete attention.
This is what we're looking at, realistically:
5:45 PM: Benediction
5:53 PM: Transition
5:57 PM: Vest
6:00 PM: Mass
And remember, no rushing the Benediction or the vesting. For this to work, 5:45 PM is a hard deadline and Mass is pre-set and ready to go right onto the altar, including vestments. Any help in this regard would make things much easier. But, it is possible, at least on paper.
All of this pre-set happens before the MBS is exposed. Which means, if I intend to do the PM half-hour meditation (30 minutes) as well as Vespers (10 minutes), the bell rings at 5:00 PM to begin the holy hour. Set up for holy hour takes a good 10 minutes (burning incense, placing candles, clearing altar, removing altar crucifix, etc) and so does Mass setup. So 4:40 PM at the latest. But remember, last time I went at 4:30 PM and ran out of time. I'll try it again at 4:30 PM.
At 4:30 PM Sunday evening, it's time for me to be "back at work."
