Cardiff Oratory

Fr Sebastian Jones on one parish’s experience of 2020-2021

Lockdown brought with it many insights and steep learning curves, not least dealing with miles of cable for streaming and telephone lines for the faithful to follow the daily Masses in both forms. There was much to do: distributing the weekly six-page parish newsletter collectible from pickup sites in weatherproof dispensers on the church gates, door to door delivery in the parish; postal delivery to those further out, or who became virtual parishioners viewing Masses, daily Rosary and daily reflections online, or on the phone, as well as the nearly three hundred newsletters being emailed weekly to parishioners.

There was a need for positive news, catechesis and focus on Christ in His Church as well as the reassurance that while the church doors were locked, the Worship of God and His Praises never ceased within. The Liturgical year 20202021 unfolded with the ever-present need for prayerful preparation and catechesis as the beauty of the Mystery of the Incarnation unfolded over the changing seasons. The mutual enrichment and the hunger of the Faithful for the Mass and especially Holy Communion was tangible. The Faithful approached for Confession and the Sacrament of the Sick, at times their anxiety for their own wellbeing and that of their priests was deeply moving. The absence of the Faithful during Holy Week 2020 and the great festivals that followed was awful for everyone.

The Eucharistic hunger felt by those accustomed to daily Mass or Sunday Mass told its own story in letters and, once the church re-opened, in numerous conversations.

Requiem Masses were offered, initially without family or body present, and latterly with small groups. What felt like wartime constraints brought into clear focus that without access to daily Mass, to be consoled by the Word of God and nourished by the Blessed Sacrament, the faithful experienced a recusancy not known for centuries. Looking back over this period, with the psalm upon our lips we may pray, "How shall I repay the Lord for His goodness to me, the cup of salvation I shall raise. I will call on the Lord’s Name”.

Immaculate Conception

Quarant’Ore