We are rapidly approaching the end of the Lockdown phase of Coronavirus. I don’t know when we’ll be able to plant our flag and say “Coronavirus is Done”. Our overlords will probably never announce it because then it goes away as a useful tool. After November I suspect many will pretend it never happened.
My concern has been the impact on the Catholic Church. I’ve asserted here and elsewhere that Coronavirus is doing what demographics was already going to do in 20 years. Here is a prediction, and I make it publicly so that everyone can see and tell me whether I was right or wrong, because I won’t look it up:
Any Parish that maintains a Livestream will see attendance (and consequently, income) remain absurdly low.
The problem, as I see it, is we just spent 3 months telling people that Live-stream Mass was just like regular Mass. And I’m not saying the important part is the audience participating. It’s not. The important part is the Real Presence. If someone took a photo of God, could you claim to be in his presence? What if they took two photos? 10? What if they took 20 photos a minute? 60 photos per second? What if you could see every photo the second it was taken?
What about drive-through Mass? How many people will wait outside Church in their cars and think they are going to Mass?
The important part of Mass is the sacrifice. How do we communicate that fact?
AMDG
Times-Dispatch of Vichy Earth 