Catholic Mass Online: Is it Good or Bad?
A Catholic Priest Discusses Virtual Mass
with Fr. Jeff Walker
By Rev. Jeffery Walker
“There are a lot of ways to stay in contact with our friends.”
This is how I have often begun my first Holy Communion homily to second graders over the years. By the age of 7, my teachers had taught me how to address an envelope and send a postcard. I also knew how to dial a telephone and make a phone call. These days, our second graders know how to send text messages and FaceTime as well. There are many ways to make a big world seem smaller. But I will remind those first communicants and their families what they all know to be true: that the very best way to encounter our friends is in person.
Kids already know that. Going to your friend’s house to play is way better than writing them a postcard. Grandma and grandpa coming to visit is substantially different and better than even the best quality of FaceTime call. Even with all of the wonderful ways we have of communication, nothing beats spending time with another person in the flesh. I’ll remind those first communicants that we have different ways of staying in touch with Jesus as well. We don’t call Him on the phone, but we can talk to Him in prayer. He doesn’t send us postcards, but we can read His Words in the Holy Scriptures. But the best way of all is to meet Him in Person—in the flesh. And that’s why Holy Mass and their first Holy Communion day is so special . . . because now they get to meet Him in the flesh.
Even with all of the wonderful ways we have of communication, nothing beats spending time with another person in the flesh.
REturning to In-Person Mass
According to Vinea’s survey of Mass-going Catholics, 73% of Catholics experienced a streaming or televised Mass during the pandemic. I had the particular experience of changing pastoral assignments in July of 2020, so I experienced the strictest pandemic restrictions in one assignment where I was associate pastor of three parishes, and then I led the majority of re-opening efforts and the return of the Sunday obligation as pastor of a university parish and Newman Center. Two very different environments indeed.
The return of the public celebration of the Holy Mass began just a few weeks before my departure from my tri-parish assignment. Many people expressed a renewed sacramental sense as they returned to Holy Mass. “It was just like my first Holy Communion day again! I’m so glad to be back!” That was a common refrain in those first few weeks back. Many of my parishioners had taken for granted the easy accessibility of the sacraments and vowed to foster a greater appreciation and devotion for the Holy Eucharist going forward. While not everyone returned to church right away (in fact, according to the survey, 2% of people who used to go to Mass every week are not going at all now, and 9% are trending in the same direction), I think that it was not simply an absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder phenomenon. Two things contributed to a faster return and a more faithful return in that tri-parish assignment:
One was our approach to digital ministries during the shutdown. Our pastoral team was determined to feed the flock during this time of separation, but our streaming efforts were not centered on the Mass. While many parishes streamed Holy Mass daily, we streamed two Masses a week: one on Sunday morning and another on Wednesday morning.
While watching a televised or live-streamed Mass is indeed a pious devotional practice, streaming does not lend itself to communicating what is most essential at Mass. Think of it this way: the law of the Church has long required that Catholics be present at Holy Mass each and every Sunday. While the frequent (even daily) reception of Holy Communion is encouraged by the Church, even that is only required once a year. What the Church has always asked of us to be present. You cannot stream presence.
73% of U.s. Catholics surveyed watched Mass online
from The Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Catholics
We focused our digital ministries instead on that which is devotional and that which is educational. We offered daily Scripture reflections, which were pre-recorded, and daily opportunities to join in praying the Rosary live online with one of our priest, deacons, or lay leaders. I offered a “Let’s Chat” livestream on Facebook twice a week where parishioners could come and interact with me and one another, ask questions, and just stay in touch as best as we can. Streaming the Holy Mass was one devotion among many, and not even a daily one. Our mindset was that streaming is devotional and educational—but presence is sacramental.
Another aspect which contributed to an increased appreciation for the Blessed Sacrament in that particular tri-parish assignment was the availability of Eucharistic adoration throughout the pandemic. Our three parish churches were in close proximity to one another, and we were able to turn one of the churches into one big by-appointment-only adoration chapel.
While pandemic precautions meant that only one family could be present at a time, we offered Eucharistic adoration for 12 hours a day, five days a week by appointment. This allowed many people to worship Jesus in the flesh and be present with Him really and truly, even if they could not receive Him in Holy Communion.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was a new experience for many of our parishioners, but in a time when we were happy to do just about anything that got us out of the house in a safe way, individuals and families alike were willing to try something new. This practice highlighted the difference between the kind of devotional prayers offered daily online and the ability to be present with the Lord in the flesh. Even now that much of parish life has returned to normal, these three parishes continue an adoration schedule that is a true post-pandemic blessing to the parishioners.
Bringing Students Back
In my new parish assignment, I was certainly dealing with a different demographic of parishioners. As the pastor of a University parish and Newman Center, with the vast majority of my flock being college students, we stopped the streaming of Sunday Mass as soon as the obligation to attend was reinstated. University students were among those least at risk for COVID and some of the first to venture back out into the world. Many classes and other events on campus were still happening online and not in person.
Sadly, many Catholics have come to treat Holy Mass as a spectator sport. … But the Church asks of us now what She has asked of us always—presence.
Education—especially at the collegiate level—can be very effectively done online, given the right resources and implementation. Holy Mass, however, is not a primarily educational experience (though a good homily should teach). Watching a speaker at a lectern is a different experience from hearing the Word proclaimed from an ambo (though the set-up may look very similar). Our swift end to streaming was an attempt to teach (through our actions) that Holy Mass is not another class or meeting— it’s something we experience in person and as a community. It requires our presence.
During that 2020-2021 academic year, when all of our college students had the option of live-streaming even those classes that were offered in person, many chose that option not out of caution for sickness, but out of the convenience and comfort of listening to their professors in the comfort of their dorms or apartments. Sadly, many Catholics have come to treat Holy Mass as a spectator sport. We’re pleased to listen to a recorded homily that might teach us something. We’re pleased to watch and listen to a well-produced live-streamed liturgy as we might be pleased to watch and listen to a well-produced television show. But the Church asks of us now what She has asked of us always—presence.
1 in 10 prior weekly Mass-goers
do not expect to be physically present at Mass
Find out why in The Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Catholics
Catholics are a sacramental people
We experience the supernatural through what is natural—we encounter the invisible God by means of what is present to our senses. God so loved the world that He sent His Son in the flesh. Though there are many good ways to stay in contact with our God, nothing is quite the same as being present to God in the flesh.
Over these last few years, many Catholic parishes have accelerated their adoption of technological resources by leaps and bounds. This will serve the Church well as we seek to preach the Gospel to all nations. Young people who seem to spend the majority of their days online will find the Church present alongside their favorite podcasts, YouTube videos, and TikToks. Those who are homebound because of illness or age can now easily listen to their own pastor’s homily recordings or join a bible study with familiar faces by zoom. Staff and committee meetings can be more efficient than ever and include even those members not physically present in the room. This technology is perfect for matters of education, devotion, and efficiency.
The Incarnation—that Holy Presence in the flesh—cannot be live-streamed or recorded.
Yet when it comes to the liturgy, we are dealing with something sensory—something “incarnational.” The Incarnation—that Holy Presence in the flesh—cannot be live-streamed or recorded. As we enter into a time of Eucharistic Revival in these United States, it’s time to revive in the hearts of the faithful an appreciation for the sacramental nature of the Church and reintroduce people to the “smells and bells,” the smiles and handshakes, the music and singing, and the Real Presence of Jesus that we experience with our whole selves—body, mind, and soul—whenever we are present for and participating in the Holy Mass.
About Fr. Jeff Walker
Fr. Jeff was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Toledo on the Feast of St. Thomas More (June 22) in 2013 and has been the pastor here at St. Tom's since July 1, 2020. His home town of Custar is just a short country drive from Bowling Green and since he went to middle school and high school in BG, he considers himself a "BG Townie". He was a Catholic Falcon, too! He was studying Foreign Langue Education at BGSU his freshman year when he became involved in Catholic Campus Ministry and began discerning a vocation to the priesthood.
He finished his undergrad at St. Joseph Seminary at Loyola University Chicago and went on to spend the five years of seminar at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He earned a graduate degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a post-grad degree, called a Licentiate, in sacramental theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm. His first parish assignment as a priest was at St. Rose Parish in Perrysburg and then he spent three years as the Parochial Vicar for the three Catholic Parishes in Sandusky and the Priest Leader of Sandusky Central Catholic High School before coming back to BG. In his free time, you might see him at the movies, re-reading something by CS Lewis, or even at Cedar Point or one of the Orlando parks. You’ll hear those things pop up in his sermons as well.
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