Letters: The ban on public worship has enabled more of us to experience spiritual riches

Divine works

Sir: Luke Coppen writes that livestreamed services ‘lack the vital communal dimension of worship’ and ‘are, at times, excruciatingly dull’ (‘Risen again’, 11 April). I would beg to differ. Catholics, at least, have had the rare opportunity to tune in to some beautifully sung Latin Masses in the Extraordinary Form which they would otherwise struggle to attend. As a Hampshire resident, for example, I have greatly appreciated the Birmingham Oratory’s livestreams. When celebrated well, these Masses are divine works of art in themselves, but are also highly prayer-focused and God-centred, with the celebrant facing the same way as the congregation — towards the altar. If anything, this pandemic has exposed the overreliance of the Ordinary Form, ubiquitous since 1969, on communal worship and interaction with the parish priest — neither of which can occur in a video of the celebrant looking out at empty pews. I hope the ban on public worship has at least enabled more Catholics to experience the spiritual riches of this age-old, yet evergreen, Mass.
Paul