Thomas and Mariyamma woke up early on Sunday. A little after 6 in the morning, they switched on the laptop and hooked up the internet, just the way the children had taught them to. For Thomas, in his early 70s and Mariyamma, in her late 60s, this was the first Palm Sunday at home in Kottayam.
On the computer, they quietly watched their priest appear and conduct the holy mass live as did tens of thousands of devotees across the country. The COVID-19 lockdown necessitated that Palm Sunday, commemorated a week before Easter in memory of Jesus entering Jerusalem, be observed at home.
“It was not the same as going to the church and offering our prayers with several others. (Normally), we would get the palms blessed by the priest in our hand, we would sing prayers together. But I am glad I could take part in the holy offering in this manner, with a live video on YouTube,” says Thomas.
Mariyamma agrees. “In church, you are fully concentrated on the prayers. At home, there are several other distractions. There is still the joy of being able to recite the prayers along with the priest, though we could not have the choir of songs,” she says.
Some others, however, decided to sing their prayers by themselves at home. Chennai-based Kathak dancer and teacher Shankari S lit a candle and sang her prayer. “I prayed with angels,” she says.
Live streaming of the holy mass was observed by most churches across Kerala as the benches in front of them remained empty. Parish priest Father Nicholas of St Joseph’s Metropolitan Cathedral in Palayam said that the church, like most others in the state, followed the lockdown rules of the state and central governments.
“There were strict instructions given by the head priest that these rules be followed. In Palayam, we observed the mass with four people including three priests and an assistant to do the service. This was shot and broadcast live by a channel for the devotees,” priest Nicholas says.
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