-
October 23, 2020By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
WORCESTER – Spectrum customers in the city of Worcester will be able to continue watching the Daily Mass on television, but on a different channel. However, Spectrum customers in other parts of the county who had watched the 9 a.m. Mass on channel 193 will no longer find it there.
The Daily Mass is now being aired on Spectrum channel 194 in Worcester, viewers were told Oct. 23, the last day the Mass was on channel 193.
There is no change for viewers who watch the Mass in towns that use other cable companies.
The diocesan communications and TV ministry are continuing efforts to get the Mass aired elsewhere too, and it can be watched live or taped at worcesterdiocese.org.
On Friday, Bishop McManus celebrated that last Mass on channel 193. Preaching about the first reading from Eph 4:1-6, he said that the Worcester Diocese has been airing this Mass for 30 years, so that each day we can be reminded that there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and that it is our privilege to be members of the Church, the Body of Christ.
He spoke of the Eucharist, the Mass, as the source and summit of Christian life, and expressed hope that it will sustain viewers’ love and devotion to the faith and the gift of the Mass.
The Mass will continue to be broadcast on Worcester’s public access channel, WCCA, Spectrum channel 194, thanks to the efforts of Raymond L. Delisle, Stephen Kaufman and the diocesan communications ministry.
At the end of the Mass Mr. Delisle, communications ministry director, said it was a sad day, but also offered hope for continued viewing.
On Oct. 22, Channel 194, “the people’s channel,” began airing the morning Mass, though viewers can see it only in Worcester, Mr. Delisle said. It is to be available there Monday through Friday at 9 a.m.
The Oct. 25 Sunday Masses in Spanish and English will be available only on the internet via the diocesan website, Mr. Delisle said.
He said the communications ministry is working with towns, to see if they can air the daily and Sunday Masses live, or later, on their cable TV channels.
The Masses, and other programs of the communications ministry, can still be viewed on the diocesan website and the various public access stations that have been carrying them, he said.
Those who attend the Masses in person at St. Paul Cathedral can continue to do so – at 9 a.m. Monday-Friday in Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Chapel on the lower level. Two Sunday Masses - the 8 a.m. in Spanish and 10 a.m. in English – are broadcast from the upper church with regular Mass-goers in attendance.
Mr. Delisle spoke to the small congregation and viewers on Oct. 23 of the appropriateness of the day’s Psalm response: “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” He said many viewers have called him about Spectrum cancelling the Mass on channel 193 that reached people in Worcester County and beyond.
He asked viewers to pray that the communications’ TV ministry can find more ways to bring the Mass into their homes, and also encouraged them to access the Mass on smartphones, tablets or other devices, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. People around the nation and world use the internet to watch the locally produced Masses and programs, he said.
