While online masses are a good alternative, these are still “incomparable” to face-to-face Eucharistic gatherings, faculty members of the University’s Institute of Religion (UST-IR) said Tuesday, March 30.
In an interview with TomasinoWeb, UST-IR faculty member Leo Ocampo pointed out that online masses are just “ways to compensate” with the absence of religious gatherings amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Although these are not sacraments—ang online masses ay, by no means, a ‘mass,’ pero kumbaga it’s the next best thing to nothing. Pero it’s not the mass. They are not comparable,” he said.
Ocampo also emphasized that online sacraments are “no substitute for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist,” as mentioned in a Vatican document titled, the Church and the Internet.
“[S]acraments are for living persons [and] are received through signs and symbols. These signs and symbols are experienced in the flesh…[S]o as far as the Church is concerned, sacraments can only happen in person,” he said.
Meanwhile, UST-IR Asst. Director Catalina Lituañas explained that face-to-face masses allow parishioners to pray together, which is not the case for online masses.
“If there are restrictions, we cannot really go out, […] then we have to stay home for our safety. But there is really a lot of difference if you are physically present in the Church. Iba yung participation mo sa Eucharist [and] your participation sa community prayer,” Lituañas told TomasinoWeb.
“Kasi inside the Church, when you participate in the mass, you don’t just pray alone. We pray with the community,” she added.
Limited capacity
The Inter-Agency Task Force allowed on March 26 “once-a-day” church gatherings from April 1 to 4, with attendance limited to only 10 percent of the church’s seating capacity.
However, the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country placed the Greater Manila area under enhanced community quarantine until April 4, which will prohibit masses during the Holy Week.
Then-Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillio said that the ban on church gatherings is a breach in the separation of church and state.
Ocampo explained that the churches are “big enough” to handle 10 percent church capacity, considering the size of the religious establishments and the protocols practiced to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
“I think it is very manageable…[A]nd the Church is very faithful in following government regulations, proper sanitations. We even created a new ministry for that in the Archdiocese of Manila,” he said.
Despite the absence of face-to-face church assemblies, Lituañas said that the faithful could still observe the Holy Week from the comfort of our homes.
“Marami tayong guides for the Holy Week celebration so we can still pray together with the family, recite the Rosary. Meron pa rin tayong Seven Last Words, so this Friday you can tune in pa rin sa livestream sa Facebook,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ocampo stressed that it is important for Catholics to “remember what God did” during the Holy Week.
“Religious gatherings help us to remember what the Lord did…[O]f course, there is the availability of online broadcasts, but also, the more important thing is your internal disposition. Attune yourself to God, remember what he has done to you, be grateful, and hopefully, respond in love,” he said.
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