Easter at home felt strange for woman preparing to be Catholic
The following is excerpted and slightly paraphrased from an article titled, “‘Easter isn’t canceled’: Christians celebrate Holy Week without being together,” which was published April 13, 2020, in the Columbia Missourian. It is published here with permission:
By Hannah Hoffmeister
Columbia
When Sarah Canoy’s two kids woke up on Easter Sunday, they didn’t get dressed to go to church.
Instead, they watched Mass at home on a livestream.
“It’s such a strange feeling,” Mrs. Canoy said. “Everything that you’ve done every year — it’s no longer going to happen that way.”
Deacon Christopher Baker, who assists the pastor of Cathedral of St. Joseph parish in Jefferson City and teaches religion at Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School in Columbia, emphasized that “Easter isn’t canceled. Holy Week isn’t canceled.”
“We couldn’t cancel Easter if we tried,” he said.
Mrs. Canoy has been preparing to receive sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil.
She is one of 31 people participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Columbia.
She and the others who are preparing to become Catholic will receive the Easter Sacraments as soon as Mass can be offered publicly again.
“Right when you’re really bonding with these people and supporting each other, then you lose that sense of community that you were working so hard to obtain,” she said.
Mrs. Canoy, who started in the RCIA in September, said she felt “a sense of mourning” at the postponement, comparing it to finding out there’s no Christmas.
She said she’s found hope and strength by connecting with other strong Christians and tapping into her faith.
“I think I’d fall apart without it at this point,” she said.
Deacon Baker urges Mrs. Canoy and the others who are waiting to become Catholic to remain steady and steadfast.
“I can’t begin to imagine the folks who have invested their time, their faith, their emotion in preparing to enter the Church at Easter, and to not have that happen,” he said. “If folks take any comfort, God knows what is in your heart. ... The pause button’s been hit but not for God.”
Ms. Hoffmeister is assistant city editor for the education beat for the Columbia Missourian.
