April 23, 2021
Good Friday marked my first unmasked Catholic Mass in well more than a year. The experience was both invigorating and surreal.
For one thing, I’m not Catholic. For another, the sense of organic community in that small wooden church felt like something from a forgotten era. Other than a tiny microphone and a few small speakers, the only advanced tech in the sanctuary were the finely carved Via Crucis and a smartphone chiming in somebody’s pocket.
These religious rituals didn’t cease last spring, but many underwent rapid evolution. During the past year of restrictions and lockdowns, various entertainment technologies invaded traditional sacred spaces cameras, televisions, livestreams, webchats, even virtual reality. This is a decades-long process that only accelerated “due to COVID.”