Screencap of Bishop Silva’s homily at the livestreamed March 22 Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Bishop Larry Silva first livestreamed Sunday Mass since canceling all public Masses due to the COVID-19 pandemic was a pared-down liturgy concelebrated with four other priests, and assisted by a deacon and seminarians as lectors and altar servers. But no congregation.
Bishop Silva processed to the altar from the sacristy with the priests and other ministers at 9 a.m. He was wearing the rose-colored vestments for Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent.
Cathedral music minister Calvin Liu played and sang an entrance hymn but it was barely audible because of an audio glitch that was later fixed.
Concelebrating were four priests assigned to, or in residence at, the cathedral: Father Pascal Abaya, Blessed Sacrament Father Anthony Pangan, Father Scott Bush and Father Jose Diaz, all taking places behind the bishop and six feet apart.
“We welcome all of you,” the bishop said, briefly explaining why the Mass was being livestreamed over the internet.
“It is with great sadness that we cannot gather” in person for the celebration of the Mass, he said.
“We pray to the Lord that all will be safe,” he said. “We put our trust in him.”
Deacon Joseph Almuena, for the penitential rite, intoned the Gregorian chant “Kyrie Eleison.” He also read the Gospel, the lengthy passage about Jesus giving sight to the man born blind.
Bishop Silva, in his homily, said the cancellation of public Masses was a “very sad turn of events, but necessary.”
The “invisible” coronavirus has “so much power over us,” he said.
If it were visible, we could avoid it, he said, but “we are blind to this very real threat.”
“We are often blind to our own sins,” he said, drawing a spiritual lesson from the pandemic. “Jesus wants to take away our blindness.”
The Mass was also the occasion for the second scrutinies for two catechumens, also called the “elect,” of the cathedral parish, Terrence Kwai Hin Ching and Heather Tomas, both scheduled to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. The scrutinies are stages in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults where the elect examine their spiritual lives.
Bishop Silva described the purpose of the scrutinies as “to help them clearly see their sins so that the Lord can free from them from their sins.”
The two stepped forward with their sponsors, all standing six feet apart.
In his prayer over the elect, the bishop asked the Lord to “stir up their desire for good.”
“Be assured of our loving support and prayers for you,” the bishop told the catechumens. “We look forward to the day when you will stand with us at the Lord’s table.”
At the sign of peace, the bishop, deacon and priests in the sanctuary gave each other quick bows, keeping their distance
Receiving Communion were the seminarians and a couple of laymen.
The Mass hymns were minimal piano instrumentals: a measured rendition of “Amazing Grace” for the Offertory and “O Sacred Head Surrounded” for the recessional.
The Mass ended with a recitation of the prayer for the COVID-19 pandemic written by Bishop Silva.
And Sunday Mass wouldn’t be complete without a couple of announcements. Bishop Silva informed his cyber-congregation that Pope Francis that morning asked everyone to join him in praying the Our Father at noon, Wednesday, March 25, and to view the live-streaming of a March 27 prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica at 7 a.m. Hawaii time (6 p.m. Rome time).
