By Zeus Legaspi
Filipinos narrate how virtual masses and their gadgets helped them continue participating in spiritual activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Being infected with the virus is an inexplicable experience. It is difficult. We needed to be strong as a family and online Masses gave us the strength we needed to push through"
As the clock strikes half-past four in the morning, the tolling of St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish's bell can be heard across the humble barangay of Poblacion 3 in Torrijos, Marinduque.
The echoes of the bell tell Fr. Richard Landig, the parish's parochial vicar, that it is time to prepare for today's Mass. And for the people of the barangay, they know that it is time to gather to commune with the Lord.
This should have been Fr. Landig's usual routine since being assigned to the parish, but as he donned his Alb and violet stole for the day, he was reminded that things are out of the usual; the bell has not rung.
In fact, the people of Torrijos have not heard it ring since the pandemic began in March 2020 -- a sign that the church is not calling the faithful to gather, at least not physically.
"As I prepare for the Mass, I stand in front of the altar with only myself, a sacristan as an assistant, and a cellphone (in front of me)", the parochial vicar said as he recalled how he conducted masses during the peak of the pandemic when there was not a single devotee present and Masses were live-streamed via Facebook.
"It's different. [Because] it's a big thing for a minister to be able to see the people, to talk to them, to interact with them", he added.
Things were indeed different for more than 86% of the Philippines' 109.6 million Filipinos who identify as Roman Catholic since the government significantly limited the capacity of churches to welcome church-goers as a measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Due to this physical limitation, Catholic Filipino families had to find an alternative way to continue their communion with God through the Holy Mass from the comfort of their homes.
"It is the religious obligation of a Catholic to find ways on how to suffice their faith. More than anything, it is what I need the most”, Joshua Vergara, a devout Catholic and a second-year college student at De La Salle University - Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) said.
"It is the religious obligation of a Catholic to find ways on how to suffice their faith"
This Filipino thirst for faith-building is why virtual masses, or masses live-streamed via various social media channels, particularly Facebook, have seen a rapid growth in the Philippines.
For the Ballenas, participating in the masses through their TV screen allowed them to meet their spiritual needs while ensuring that their family, especially their diabetic daughter, remains safe from the threat of the virus.
Even though active cases in the Philippines are at a downtrend as of late, averaging 27,215 in November 2021 as compared to an average of 164,854 in the latter half of September the same year, some Filipinos are still afraid to “take chances”.
"We have no choice because our daughter has a co-morbidity. She has diabetes mellitus 1. That's why it is very difficult for us to take our chances", Dr. Constantino Ballena, father of two, and a full-time professor at DLSU-D said.
For the Gonzales family whose entire household tested positive for COVID-19 in early 2021, virtual masses are the only thing that kept them from "falling apart" as they fought to survive the ordeal while confined inside their home.
"Our entire family tested positive for COVID-19. Being infected with the virus is an inexplicable experience. It is difficult. We needed to be strong as a family and online masses gave us the strength we needed to push through", Kristine Gonzales, a COVID-19 survivor and a senior member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Music Ministry in Imus, Cavite said.
Kristine attributes her family's survival and renewed strength to her laptop which served as her family's bridge to other devotees in their local parish as she continued to engage in other spiritual activities such as online formation.
Indeed, conducting spiritual activities online removes the need to travel, thus allowing people from other countries and other far-flung places in the Philippines to take part in the activity with ease.
"Virtual masses allow us to reach more people than we ever could. We even have viewers from abroad attending the Mass here with us", Fr. Landig said when asked about the impact of going online.
Examples like these are what motivated the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to develop a Catholic mobile application called FaithWatch.
“I use the app as a guide for Mass reading and to lookup Mass schedules in the nearest churches”, Social Studies teacher John Vierneza said.
But FaithWatch offers John more than just convenience – he also uses it as a source of news and information for his Social Studies class through its news feature.
Immediate past CBCP President and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said the mobile application is a "gift" amid the pandemic which "badly hampered" the Filipinos' regular and normal channels of catechesis and evangelization.
But even though virtual means of faith-building exist and are becoming more accessible, Filipino families still cannot help but long to go to their local parishes.
"Human as we are, we cannot help but to want to satisfy all of our senses when we participate in spiritual activities"
"Human as we are, we cannot help but to want to satisfy all of our senses when we participate in spiritual activities", Fr. Landig said.
For Dr. Ballena and his family, physically receiving the Body of Christ in face-to-face masses makes a huge difference in the entire spiritual experience.
But Fr. Landig explained that even though the experience is indeed different when receiving the Eucharist physically, the faithful still receive the same grace from the Lord.
However, the parochial vicar warned against passive participation in online masses.
"When you are attending virtual masses, you have to make sure that you would act and think as you would when you attend an actual mass", Fr. Landig advised.
"You need to focus on the Lord. Your participation should be full and your attention should not be divided. You cannot attend masses while cooking your breakfast", he joked.
"Virtual masses are only an alternative. Masses require full participation from the faithful. It is a must for the Catholic people to set aside your time and yourself to the Lord [physically]", Fr. Landig reminded.
Online masses may indeed be supplementary, but for Kristine, whose faith was strengthened by such virtual alternatives, the “love for God, no matter the medium, will always depend on the believer. Physical or not, I will always be of service (to Him)”, she said in Filipino.
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