Unfilled Mass At St Luke's Washington

My regular correspondent sent me a copy of the July 12 bulletin from the St Luke's ordinariate parish in the Washington, DC suburbs. It beginas,

We had a single unified 11 am Mass in the auditorium last Sunday [see below for the reason]. There were 57 in attendance. Since we are now permitted 50% capacity, that still leaves 93 possible spaces open for you in the auditorium. Granted, we only set out seating for about 80 people. But, no matter how you look at it, we still have plenty of room for you.

So we hope we will see you soon. Do bring a mask to wear

My correspondent comments, "I have discovered that the capacity of the church I have attended for the last three Sundays is over a thousand. Saturday Vigil has drawn perhaps thirty people. I do note that other parishes in the Archdiocese require pre-registration, so I assume some are much fuller."

Our diocesan parish requires pre-registration, which is done via an on-line app. Registration for the following Sunday opens at 9:00 AM Wednesday and fills within about an hour for the total of several hundred seats available. As of this Sunday, the number of masses will roughly double, so things may be a bit easier, but this is due only to the increased mass times and not to any expansion of capacity. Meanwhile, the state and county continue under threat of renewed lockdown.

It sounds as though the demand for mass varies among parishes. Our parish seems to be the sort that fills its seats. This doesn't surprise me, given the stream of lies, panic, threats, and outrage directed at the faithful over the past several months, combined, remarkably, with rigorous limits on access to the spiritual support they need. I suspect the motive for those who want to get to mass, notwithstanding the obligation is dispensed, is related in some way to the lyrics of a favorite hymn from my Episcopalian days:

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.

Think how many contagious droplets are being spewed out toward the unsuspecting in the video below.

How long will it be before the authorities allow this sort of thing again? On the other hand, how many people are leaning to Olde Englishe liturgy for that sort of repose?