ESSENTIALITY OF THE FACE-TO-FACE AND VIRTUAL EUCHARIST IN TIME OF COVID-19

Abstract

Since the who named Covid-19 a «pandemic», on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, there has been an avalanche of meetings prohibited in the world and here also in Chile. By accepting the Government rules, the Church has fulfi lled the imperative to protect bodily health, considering it a priority. However, this has raised many questions: is the Eucharist essential or not?; the Eucharist on the internet, it is real or virtual?; what do the virtual Eucharists say to theology?. Approaching this reality from the perspective of practical theology and with one of its methods: critical correlation does not allow us to make sense and to interpret what we have experienced. In this sense, it is confirmed that the most important is that the Mystery always becomes epiphany in the Eucharist on the internet, he is the essential one, even if the modality (internet) does not exhaust or be the only way to make anamnesis of Jesus-Christ. The Eucharist on the internet is a reality within its own space, it is current and is characterized by the active presence of man. However, many unanswered questions remain, especially relating to asynchronity, the loss of community sense and the so predominant role of the priest to the detriment of the community participation’s.