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. 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.

Before COVID-19, many parishes focused on being more welcoming and making the Mass more accessible and relatable. Many parishes now are concentrating on safety precautions, or others have simply gone back to business as usual. But according to recent survey results from Vinea Research, for some Catholics, neither of these approaches will bring them back.