In an unprecedented move, Christian faithful have been asked to mark Holy Week this year sans the many rituals and ceremonies associated with it. While Palm Sunday didn’t see the distribution of blessed palms, Maundy Thursday won’t have the customary washing of the feet. There will be no enactment of the passion of Christ and home blessings at Easter, either.
Nevertheless, the Church is keen on catering to the spiritual needs of its flock from afar. The Jesuits, for instance, have begun a spiritual helpline to give the laity some direction and comfort during the Holy Week amid the lockdown. They have also adapted to the times and have begun an online retreat that will culminate on Easter Sunday.
“It’s not just grain and other food that people require during this time. They also need someone to talk to. There are the sick, aged, lonely, bored and those who require counselling,” said provincial of the Goa Jesuit Province, Fr Roland Coelho SJ.
“They can just call the spiritual helpline and talk to priests, share their feelings and fears and seek advice,” he said.
Fourteen priests available on the helpline — which was launched at the beginning of the Holy Week — have been counselling the laity and providing spiritual guidance in Konkani, English, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada. The Goa province of the Jesuits extends to parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, too.
For the first time, churches that used to schedule timings for confessions will not be doing so, as social distancing will not be possible while administering the sacrament. The faithful have been requested to say the Act of Contrition on their own and confess their sins to a priest after the lockdown.
Holy Week celebrations — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday — that culminate in Easter Sunday, will be “simple and modest”, Fr Archibald Gonsalves, superior at the Carmelite Monastery in Margao, said.
“We continue live-streaming all religious services, including the adoration, but we are really missing the people. It’s a different celebration without the community of believers being present and participating. We will be giving more importance to the spiritual celebration. Everything will be low key in the current situation,” he said.
Parish priest of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church, Panaji, Fr Walter de Sa, too says celebrating the Holy Week without a congregation during the lockdown is a painful experience and unprecedented.
“We are used to people from the parish not only actively participating but making all arrangements for the Holy Week in the church. This is not possible this year. We continue to keep them informed about the timings of masses and services so that they can be united with us,” he said.
Although their regular choir won’t be able to lift everyone’s spirits, the priests will sing various parts of the Easter vigil to make it more festive, he added.
Nevertheless, the Church is keen on catering to the spiritual needs of its flock from afar. The Jesuits, for instance, have begun a spiritual helpline to give the laity some direction and comfort during the Holy Week amid the lockdown. They have also adapted to the times and have begun an online retreat that will culminate on Easter Sunday.
“It’s not just grain and other food that people require during this time. They also need someone to talk to. There are the sick, aged, lonely, bored and those who require counselling,” said provincial of the Goa Jesuit Province, Fr Roland Coelho SJ.
“They can just call the spiritual helpline and talk to priests, share their feelings and fears and seek advice,” he said.
Fourteen priests available on the helpline — which was launched at the beginning of the Holy Week — have been counselling the laity and providing spiritual guidance in Konkani, English, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada. The Goa province of the Jesuits extends to parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, too.
For the first time, churches that used to schedule timings for confessions will not be doing so, as social distancing will not be possible while administering the sacrament. The faithful have been requested to say the Act of Contrition on their own and confess their sins to a priest after the lockdown.
Holy Week celebrations — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday — that culminate in Easter Sunday, will be “simple and modest”, Fr Archibald Gonsalves, superior at the Carmelite Monastery in Margao, said.
“We continue live-streaming all religious services, including the adoration, but we are really missing the people. It’s a different celebration without the community of believers being present and participating. We will be giving more importance to the spiritual celebration. Everything will be low key in the current situation,” he said.
Parish priest of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church, Panaji, Fr Walter de Sa, too says celebrating the Holy Week without a congregation during the lockdown is a painful experience and unprecedented.
“We are used to people from the parish not only actively participating but making all arrangements for the Holy Week in the church. This is not possible this year. We continue to keep them informed about the timings of masses and services so that they can be united with us,” he said.
Although their regular choir won’t be able to lift everyone’s spirits, the priests will sing various parts of the Easter vigil to make it more festive, he added.
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