Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, schools all over the country have been shut down indefinitely. In fact, earlier today, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that Pennsylvania school buildings would remain closed the rest of the school year.
Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Academy have switched over to “remote access learning.” Students have been completing all of their work online for about the past three weeks. Student reaction has been mixed.
Senior Gavin Ferry says, “I am just happy I do not have to come to school.”
This is a very interesting situation for not only Prep, but all of America. Starting today, Thursday, April 9, and ending Monday, April 20, Cathedral Prep will be on Spring Break, which traditionally happens this time around the Easter holiday.
Steven Campbell says, “I like to think of this year’s spring break as a break from our COVID break.”
This week is also Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum. Today is Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday is when our savior, Jesus Christ, performed the very first mass and held the Last Supper. Friday, April 10, is Good Friday, where Jesus suffered his passion and crucifixion. It is also a day of fasting. Saturday, April 11, is Holy Saturday or the Easter Vigil. Holy Saturday commemorates the day Jesus laid in his tomb after his death. Sunday, April 12 is Easter Sunday. Easter celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, destroying sin and death forever.
Easter is my personal favorite holiday.—not because of the Easter Bunny or because of the good food, but because it represents something greater, which is Jesus’s resurrection. Every year I look forward to celebrating Mass with my family; however, this will have to celebrated through live stream this year.
Due to the coronavirus, churches in Erie will be shut down. Mass, however, is scheduled to be performed as usual. It will just be viewed via live stream. Cathedral Prep’s campus minister Fr. Jason Feigh of Saint Francis Xavier Church in McKean has been live streaming his masses, and and other priests and parishes have also already begun live-streaming daily masses.
Live streams for Holy Week Masses can be found at https://www.eriercd.org/livestream.html, or if you want to celebrate with Fr. Jason, you can find his masses at www.stfrancisxaviermckean.org. Also, you can participate in the Diocese of Erie’s #HolyWeekAtHome activities here: https://www.eriercd.org/holyweekathome.html.
