With stay-at-home orders expiring and reopening plans being implemented in most states throughout May and June, Catholic churches throughout the nation have been able to offer public Masses again. After weeks of online Masses and uncertainty following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Catholics are returning to the greatest prayer with a “new normal,” which includes limited seating, communion only under one species, mandatory facemasks, a prohibition on singing, and a lack of the sign of peace.
After Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced on May 18 that places of worship would be able to reopen for services in a moderated fashion effective immediately, the Archdiocese of Boston informed parishioners that public Masses would resume on May 23 with various public health precautions in place. Public Masses in the Archdiocese of Boston and throughout large swaths of the country have now been celebrated for over a month.
“The experience has been really good for myself and my community, because we have all been able to see one another and participate in the liturgy together,” Abe Wilkins, MCAS ‘22 and a member of the Diocese of Providence, said about his return to public Mass. “Being able to receive [the Blessed Sacrament] again has been wonderful. I feel like my faith and enjoyment of this mystery have been deepened by the separation. Now I no longer take access to the Eucharist for granted, and it is reflected in my prayer life and relationship with Jesus.”
Other metropolitan dioceses have started or are nearing their returns to public Masses. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been holding measured public Masses since June 6 after the city entered into the “yellow” phase of reopening on June 5. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced on June 20 that their churches in Brooklyn and Queens would resume public Masses on June 29 at 25% capacity in phase 2 of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s reopening plan.
“Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens have been longing for the celebration of Mass and to receive the Holy Eucharist. But our sacrifice and patience have borne fruit, and we did our part to flatten the curve of the terrible coronavirus pandemic,” Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said. “Soon we can come together to be nourished by the spiritual food we have been desperate for.”
Though it was delayed for over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Boston Archdiocesan Year of the Eucharist began on June 14 with Seán Cardinal O’Malley presiding over the public Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. A few days before this socially-distanced Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi, Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston Secretariat for Evangelization held a virtual commissioning ceremony for nearly 475 Missionaries of the Eucharist who will “commit to praying an additional [15 minutes] each day, helping with and attending Year of the Eucharist events and witnessing to the power of the Eucharist” until the feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated again in 2021.
“[The pandemic] has increased our hunger for God in our lives,” Cardinal O’Malley said to the missionaries during the online event. “Our Eucharistic year is an opportunity to deepen our knowledge and appreciation for this most precious gift by promoting Eucharistic devotion and spirituality and working to promote unity in the body of Christ.”
Featured Image courtesy of Pixabay.
Max Montana is a senior studying philosophy and theology. When not writing for The Torch, he enjoys reading more about the Catholic faith and philosophy, serving the unborn and mothers in need, and hanging out with friends. Max is honored to hail from the state with many gators and the bishop of the moon: Florida.
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