Utah Catholics find spiritual comfort online and at church as local parishes find ways to offer services despite pandemic restrictions

Friday, Apr. 24, 2020

ROOSEVELT —St. Helen Catholic Church parishioner Terry Stringham has been very grateful for the weekly drive-in Communion service instituted by Father Showri Kalva, pastor. However, it is the daily Masses livestreamed from the Cathedral of the Madeleine that have been a “lifesaver” to him, he said.

Stringham, along with all Catholics in Utah, has been unable to attend Mass because of the restrictions on social gathering being enforced to stop the spread of COVID-19. Being isolated during Easter was hard, Stringham said, but was made more bearable by being able to view the livestreamed Easter Mass from the Cathedral of the Madeleine, along with Pope Francis celebrating the Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Most St. Helen parishioners also attend the drive-in Communion service on Saturdays and Sundays, which the parish began two weeks after the shutdown, Stringham said. 

“That’s better; you at least get a chance to see everybody and make sure everyone is doing OK,” he said.

Stringham, who is the parish council president of the 70-member parish, is an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. He is among those who get masked and gloved to help Fr. Kalva go from vehicle to vehicle, praying with the occupants and administering Communion. 

The parish also uses Flocknote, a cell phone application, to stay in touch with parishioners through text messages, said Stringham, who incorporates Hallow, a Catholic meditation phone app, during the week for his personal prayer. He even participated in a Hallow 24-hour worldwide Easter rosary that was broadcast through Zoom, a video conferencing program. 

One unexpected benefit of this time for Stringham, a wireless engineer, has been the ability to listen to the livestreamed Masses from the cathedral on headphones while he works. It has enabled him to participate in Mass more often, he said.

 “I hope they keep doing it when things get back to normal,” he said.  “It makes a big difference in my day; I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression, and it really helps. I just have a different outlook when I listen to a daily Mass and I pray the rosary and I read the Scriptures.”

During the shutdown, Stringham said he has increased his recitation of the rosary from a weekly habit to a daily one. He also mentioned the Intermountain Catholic as a source of connection.

“I’m very grateful we have it,” he said. “It’s the only way that we can stay in touch and see what’s going on around the diocese. I’m really grateful to Bishop Solis; the livestreamed Masses from the cathedral have been wonderful. I’m just grateful that we have a way that we as a community can still pray.”

At the nearby Holy Spirit Mission in Duchesne, Amy Babcock also helps Fr. Kalva administer Communion at the weekly drive-in Communion services.

This time has had its ups and downs, she said.

Babcock, the parish council vice president, owns a welding company with her husband, Robert. She regularly listens to Relevant Radio and tunes into EWTN Masses, which has helped her a lot, she said.

In addition, she participates in St. Mary of the Assumption Parish’s daily “Virtual Morning Coffee with Fr. Gray,” where pastor Fr. Christopher Gray shares daily inspirational talks with participants. She also watches daily Masses livestreamed by Fr. Arokia Dass David, administrator of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish.

“I think it’s great because there are a lot of resources for us to use at this time, which I think is a blessing,” Babcock said. “I think a lot of priests are trying to give hope and inspiration and connect with their parishioners.” 

“Throughout the day, there’s definitely ups and downs,” she said, “especially with everybody losing their jobs — we will be losing our jobs — and so it’s emotional. It’s overwhelming; there’s lots of factors going on. As the day progresses, you get a little bogged down with all that’s happening, so then I’ll turn on Relevant Radio and I’ll listen to Patrick Madrid and I’ll hear the people’s voices, and everyone is going through the same things that you’re going through, and that really helps you to know that you’re not alone; that your feelings that seem sometimes out of control aren’t.”

“You feel like you’re not alone; you feel like you’re with the nation praying for our country,” she added.

At St. Mary Parish in West Haven, not being able to attend daily Mass is hard for Gary Thompson, who has been attending at least five times a week since he joined the Church nine years ago. 

“It’s almost like losing someone,” said Thompson, an RV sales manager. “At first you go through the stages of grief basically; you get where you’re hurting; then you’re mad.”

Thompson said he normally attends Mass to receive the Eucharist.

“It’s a habit I’ve created, and without it I just feel like my day has not started,” he said.

During the coronavirus shutdown, Thompson watches livestreamed Masses from St. Francis of Assisi Parish, where his former pastor Fr. Gustavo Vidal celebrates, or the St. Mary Parish livestreamed Masses with Fr. Oscar Picos.

“They help me a lot,” he said. “We can take spiritual communion, which isn’t anything like doing it in person, but will suffice when you can’t. It’s just a great boost; without it, we’d be totally lost.”

Militia Immaculata International daily readings have replaced the rosary Thompson normally participated in before the daily Mass, he said.

A member of Flamekeepers, a Catholic men’s club that holds annual retreats each summer, Thompson said the group’s biweekly Zoom meetings also have helped him a great deal. Although the group regularly holds those meetings, the last few during the shutdown have been particularly meaningful, he said. 

Zoom also is the technology used by Deana Froerer, a Weber State economics professor, as she leads an online Sunday morning Scripture study group before Mass at St. Florence Mission in Huntsville. Froerer provides slides and other materials remotely for participants.

“In some ways, we are more focused, since it’s a little more in front of you,” she said. “It’s as least as good as before.”

In her own spiritual life, Froerer has used regular readings from “Give Us This Day: Daily Prayer for Today’s Catholic” to help her stay strong, she said. 

Also, “preparing for these classes helps so much because it has kept me in the readings,” she said. 

Others are invited to join the St. Lawrence group at 8 a.m. each Sunday at https://weber.zoom.us/j/94741248000.

In addition to the resources mentioned in this story, many others are available. For example, the Diocese of Salt Lake City YouTube channel (Catholic SaltLakeCity) offers English and Spanish Stations of the Cross, spiritual communion and Eucharistic adoration.

Also, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (https://catholiccurrent.org/covid19/) offers resources in response to COVID-19, including links to online Masses and adoration, daily readings in English and Spanish, and maternal Intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe from Archbishop Gomez in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.