McGrath Institute Blog

Classes resumed at the University of Notre Dame after the conclusion of an extended Spring Break. My large lecture class, 230 students strong, called “The Catholic Faith,” resumed with the rest of our classes. I showed up to my usual classroom at the usual class time with my usual feeling of nervousness before teaching. I prepared the blackboard as usual, with the topic for the day, “The Descent into Hell, The Resurrection, and the Ascension of the Lord.” Our class is based on the Apostles’ Creed. We have reached the end of the second article. I put on the screen an image of the two classical icons of the Resurrection, the one of Christ descending into Hell and liberating Adam and Eve from the kingdom of the dead, and the one of the Spice-Bearing Women, come, as they thought, to anoint the body of the Lord. At the appointed moment, I started my lecture.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve received a number of requests from people looking for resources to assist them in different ways as they meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak. In response, we’ve begun curating online resources in this weekly series, including links in each of the following categories: Prayer for the Home, Educational Opportunities, Resources (for ministers, educators, parents, etc.), and Flourishing and Fun.  

Here are several that caught our attention for this week:

Editorial Note: This post is part of a series intended for Catholics who are unable to participate in public celebrations of the Eucharist because of restrictions around COVID-19. Through prayerful reflection on the proper texts of the Mass each Sunday, we may still receive the fruits of Eucharistic communion.

For nearly a decade I’ve coordinated a dedicated and deeply faithful group of parishioners who visit the sick and homebound of our faith community. Whenever a new volunteer worries that she or he lacks the knowledge to be a minister to the homebound, I advise them to trust in the importance of their presence. When visitation ministers fear they don’t know how to console, I assure them that their mere presence conveys caring and love—words are secondary to presence.

Under the pall of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lives of people around the globe have been radically upended in countless ways. The Church shares in this upheaval, as all dioceses of the United States have canceled public Masses and are wrestling with how best to continue dispensing the sacraments—especially Confession and Anointing of the Sick—while observing necessary health precautions. It’s clear that the celebrations of Holy Week will necessarily be very different in 2020, with the rituals unfolding in empty churches. (On the bright side, with stay-at-home orders, there should be record “attendance” at the Triduum via livestream!)