Ecclesial Learnings: New Horizons at a Time of Pandemic

A screen shot of the live streaming of the Holy Eucharist from IHMC Jesuit Parish Kalena Agrahara, Bengaluru

Often we act as though we are people with a horse headgear. We don't like to see other narratives or perspectives. Sometime ago, a young priest suffered from cataract in both of his eyes due to the side effects of corticosteroids. As a matter fact, the priest began to use his iPad for his liturgical services as this device gave him a better visibility. But many raised eyebrows including a discussion in his community on how best to forbid him using such a device in public. 

Lockdown and Technology

The Covid lockdown has seen an unprecedented use of technology in our Catholic liturgical services. We have been using all sorts of media devices and platforms to livestream the divine mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even those who were against the use of such devices are gladly embracing the new normal with scepticism, dilemma and doubt.

In time of voluntary house arrest and lockdown we have embraced new mediums and technologies to manifest and express our faith. Corona has not only made our faith stronger in our Creator even the armchair philosophy against the use of electronic devices in our chapels, churches and public gatherings has slowly begun to accept the new normal. 

Technology and e-devices as means to an end

God is a like wi-fi device, His graces are like signals, which means God is present in signals as well. God gave the human person the intelligence and reason to make one's life pleasing and promising on this earth. St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the 16th century mystic and saint put it so boldly in his Spiritual Exercises (23): "Man was created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord and in this way to save his soul. The other things on Earth were created for man's use, to help him reach the end for which he was created." In other words, God gave us these electronic devices in order to reach the end, if we take the words seriously this founder of the Jesuits speaks about. Then why then so much noise about the use of electronic devices in our liturgical services? Is it our ideologies simply turning us blind to see the current realties?

Today live streaming of liturgical services like Holy Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration, Novenas, Rosaries, spiritual talks, and many other devotional practices have become the new order. Through live telecast and  live stream people are connected throughout the whole world. Karl Rahner seeing the bishops coming from different continents with diverse colours at the Second Vatican Council said our  Church is no more an European Church but a "World Church". And now with live streaming the World Church has become a global parish.  Instead of what we usually do of going to the church, the church has come into our apartments, our work places and homes.

Unholy alliances with the tradition
Many Orthodox Churches and liturgical rubricists may not like to see what is happening today with the closing of the Churches. But their number is small and have become numb. Just a few days ago a Catholic Melkite priest who writes regular Sunday reflections in a refuted Catholic News Agency published from London, UK wrote "I couldn't zoom any Eucharist myself not only for theological reasons." Further he added, "Byzantine liturgical theology does not allow any private individual celebrations as liturgy is corporate." Unfortunately, the liturgically traditionalist does not want recall the history of Byzantine liturgy which dates back to 4-5 century.

The anapoharas ἀναφορά, (Eucharistic prayers) that are widely used in divine liturgies are of St John the Chrysostom, St Basil the Great and many others evolved gradually in Church practices. The pomp and solemnity that this liturgy has today wasn't in practice well until the first schism in the Church. However, such a rich and robust Byzantine liturgy took  years and centuries to get what we have today a definite shape and form just like the Byzantine empire. No liturgy has come to us readymade or as finished product from our Lord. Rome was not built in a day! All the liturgies belonging to different rites that our Church celebrates were all slowly built up over the years, incorporating different traditions, cultures, lifestyle and intellectual standards. There was always room for incorporating new ideas and standards. It was absolutely not rigid as we think of today. Flexibility was norm of the day. That is why still today we give so much importance for the sense of evolving and appropriation in the Church, its dogmas and rubrics. The classical dictum Ecclsia semper reformanda, Church is constantly reforming is part of the living tradition of the Church. The good and holy Pope John XXIII said at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, "let the Church open its windows, let fresh air breathe in.

Domestic Church and live stream connectivity

The Church of God is not only church in a  building. It is where we are; it is everywhere. Therefore, we can experience God in our work places, markets and homes as well. St Ignatius taught us God is attainable even without an external agent. We can reach God directly. God speaks to us as individuals, persons and communities. 

Certainly, it true that for those of us to whom the ritual has become so monotonous, obligation and ritual any change in its expression becomes very hard to integrate it in our faith life and practice so quickly. The expression "we are used to that way" should be taken out from our mind  if we want to adapt to new generation of technologies and platforms.

But not everything is negative in this health crisis. If we cannot go outside, it’s time to go inside. The compulsion of staying at home may be the norm, but we are also invited to stay even closer to God. This forced deprivation has triggered a wave of creative initiatives all over the world to connect our friends, communities and church assemblies. From online masses to reflections, from music shows to online personal support, Jesuits and partners are praying with you online. The Jesuit Conference of South Asia which organized an 8 day"Lifeline retreat" attracted more than 15,000 persons during the Holy Week.

Our one of the two Jesuit parishes in Bangalore Archdiocese, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church at Kalena Agrahara has been live streaming of its liturgical services everyday at 6.30 in English and 07.10 in Kannada, and on Sundays 07.00 in English and 8.30 in Kannada since (22 March 2020) the Covid lockdown started in India. This has not only helped the parish priest to communicate with people of such large and vibrant parish but also to meet the spiritual and other needs of the faithful.

In all this, there is a great spiritual, paschal, profound dimension that we already know, but that we rediscover: we are one, same Body and just how we are affected together, so we can live only together, helping each other, supporting each other, acting responsibly, inviting others to act in this way. The world will move forward with its technology and new mediums of communications and the Church should pull along its traditional patterns of communicating the divine mysteries in new and fresh ways.

(Next post will see a few theological arguments why adaptability and appropriation of new technologies, devices and mediums are must for the Church if it wants to be at the service of its faithful in the digital world.)

Olvin Veigas, SJ

24 July 2020