Mass during a pandemic A loss of a communal celebration By Fr. Jason McClure
There are many reasons why I value being part of Owensboro Catholic High. I enjoy being in the classroom, teaching the Catholic faith. I enjoy interacting with students in the classroom, the halls, the cafeteria and in my office. I enjoy attending competitions and athletic events. The days of recollection and the senior retreats are very special occasions and leave some lasting memories. But that which I look most forward to each week is celebrating the Holy Mass with the whole school every Thursday morning at 10:35 a.m. during the school year. Consequently, that Thursday morning Mass with students, faculty, staff, and families has been what I have missed most about the closing of schools during this extraordinary time of a global pandemic. Every priest I know has expressed a profound grief at the loss of the communal celebration of the sacraments, especially the Holy Mass. While all of us priests continue to celebrate Mass every day, when done in the absence of the community of faith, there is something missing. For several weeks I have celebrated daily Mass, at times alone and at times with other priests. And like other priests, I have done so praying for those who were, for a time, separated from the Source and Summit of our Catholic faith, the Holy Eucharist. We have prayed daily for those affected by COVID-19, especially those who have lost their lives and those grieving the loss of someone they love. We have also prayed for those working to keep us safe, especially first responders, health care workers, and those who continued to work every day to take care of the rest of us. As schools entered into the world of non-traditional instruction (NTI) in an effort to continue the education students would have otherwise received in the classroom, OCHS was no exception. Zoom meetings, Google Classroom, and Chromebooks became the new reality for the last quarter of the school year. Although there would be no return to the classroom, the school’s commitment to academic excellence remained.
The OCHS commitment to academic excellence is led by its commitment to Catholic faith formation. As theology classes continued alongside other academic disciplines, every Thursday morning at 10:30 (the regular scheduled weekly all school Mass time), I celebrated Mass, not in the gym with the whole school gathered together, but alone in the OCHS chapel with others joining me via live-stream. While there is no substitution for being physically present, in a time when social distancing is mandated by a potentially fatal virus, gathering with you in a virtual way was something I looked forward to each week. During these celebrations of the Holy Mass, I prayed with and for OCHS and all of our students, families, faculty and staff. This was part of our ongoing commitment to keep Jesus Christ at the center of our identity as a Catholic school. This is what sets OCHS apart. I pray this time of social distancing and the loss we have felt at the separation from the sacraments, will awaken in each of us a new and profound love and appreciation for them. How easy it is to take something for granted. How true it is, that too often we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone. But although we were separated from Christ in the Eucharist for a few weeks, we were never beyond the reach of our God. I look forward to our return to the school and the classroom. I look forward to interacting with students, and attending competitions, athletic and other school events. I look forward to the sound of locker doors slamming, students laughing and talking (and at times yelling), and students rushing to the classroom before the bell rings. But more than anything else, I look forward to gathering once again in that gym with the whole school for the celebration of the greatest thing we do at OCHS, the celebration of the Holy Mass. It’s just not the same without you. May we never again take it for granted. ♠
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