observed that not attending Mass has had no negative effect on their lives

Most people, unfortunately, are very unobservant. They may well have failed to observe the deleterious effects, which are likely to emerge only slowly.

quality worship and catechesis and social activities

Define, please.

Quality worship:
which makes you feel and understand that it is good (i.e. essential) for man to worship God
Quality catechesis:
which leads to understanding the teaching of the Church, and why that is good for man
Quality social activities:
which are charitable rather than orbiting around 'us nice and interesting people'
(everyone is welcome, unless you criticise the pastor or the parish council)

Don't underestimate the need for social activities for the sake of socializing, which serves the good of friendship.

Amen. I played for a parish that was an hour away from my home for about a year or so and didn't really know anyone. I was happy there, and the people were generically nice to me at donut hour after mass, but I didn't have any friends. One day we had a KoC brunch after the 11am mass and a parishioner whom I didn't know grabbed me by the arm and said, "c'mon. You're sitting over here with us!" God bless this holy woman! She just took it upon herself to bring me into her rather large social circle and introduced me to a bunch of parishioners I had never gotten to know. They all became great friends and I became so emotionally invested in the people at that parish that I still grieve moving away from that area more than three years later because I miss them all and love them all so much. I still keep in contact with them.

That one kind act—of a parishioner seeking me out and inviting me into her social circle and introducing me to other people at the parish—made all the difference in the world for me. Overnight it changed from being the churched where I worked to my true parish home. I'll never forget the lesson.

Serviam,

Did you encounter your wife there?

For much as I love good liturgy I love to go to a church where i have friends who care about me. Especially to have Christian friendships, where we help each other keep pointing in the right direction!

But they sometimes (in my own experience: too often) come about separately.
Just two examples, one parish welcoming but 95% 'horizontal' liturgy, vs. our local TLM group that drove me away with their 'catechizing' during what was meant as socializing...

There are some good people at the TLM mass here. But for reasons I don't quite fathom, that mass has some kind of attraction to some genuine fruits, nuts and flakes. They are paranoid, think the government and Vatican are out to get them, and that they represent some kind of remnant church that will burst forth and save Christianity. Crazy!

So, as of Palm Sunday weekend, the parishes in our diocese can open to 75% capacity. Any ministers during the Mass (priests, deacons, servers, cantors, etc.) can also perform their roles without the wearing of masks if safely distanced from one another.

Moving in the right direction, I guess.

Salieri: it's likely a combination of both - the combination of duration of time in enclosed space (esp in older buildings without good ventilation activated, a situation common in Catholic churches) with maximum density of people permitted. That's a regular consideration over the last year in discussions among members of my peer cohorts (back side of middle age to onset of early retirement age) in their evaluation of risks. People who are 14 days past their final vaccination are starting to reduce their risk assessments, but most of those people who are not essential are still over 65.

tomjaw - I would hope your congregants contemplated the Four Last Things, at least occasionally, and did not think they were invincible. OTOH a year ago when I responded to queries that at 82 I had a 10% chance of dying in the next twelve months anyway so I ought to be ready, everybody I said this to was discomfited.

The Saturday anticipated and Sunday morning 10:00 a.m. Mass were live-streamed. Last night's Mass had about 40 people in attendance. I didn't get a count of today's congregants, but there were probably as many people as there have been coming to the 10:00 a.m. Mass in the last month or so. I don't go to the Saturday anticipated, so I can't speak if the numbers last night are reflective of an increase, decrease, or no change in numbers.

I think the increased capacity has some folks scared. An announcement was made on the diocesan Facebook page, and many people commented how it's "too soon" to be opening the churches to more people.

I'm just happy I was able to attend Palm Sunday Mass in-person this year. I almost cried when singing "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" with the roaring organ. It truly felt like the start of Holy Week to me.

>> I'm just happy I was able to attend Palm Sunday Mass in-person this year. I almost cried when singing "All Glory, Laud, and Honor"
It truly felt like the start of Holy Week to me.

This!!

This article is relevant to the discussion. The survey it reports on has been in the news for the past two days, so there are lots of articles about the numbers and the trend in America towards religious affiliation and church membership, never mind active participation in a faith community, becoming a small minority in the country.

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2021/03/29/report-church-membership-among-catholics-declined-nearly-20-since-2000/