Thanks to a team of wonderful volunteers, our weekly 9:15 Sunday Mass celebrated here at St. Catherine's Church is broadcast on Cedar Grove's Channel 77 at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and repeated at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
This Mass Video Ministry was started for the benefit of the Homebound by Msgr. Charlie, Paul Lee and Tom Alu. Msgr. Charlie supplied the camera. Cablevision supplied the television and camera dolly, and assigned a time slot for St. Catherine's Mass to be aired.
Later on, Paul Meola & George Bottarini joined the Team. After the 9:15 Mass, they rush to bring the completed tape to Town Hall in time for the 10:30 airing.
When Paul Meola underwent back surgery and became homebound during his recovery, he said that he found
"great solace in being able to
watch the Mass on TV."
He thought that God must have inspired him to get involved in working on the Mass Video before he experienced back surgery! He said that he was happy to share the comfort of viewing the mass with the seniors and the homebound.
As time went on, three energetic high school students became part of the Team. Cedar Grove student Stephen Raum, Lacordaire student Mary Kate Coleman, and Seton Hall Prep student Matthew Oehm take turns taping the 9:15 Mass on Sundays. They arrive about 15 minutes before Mass begins to set up the equipment and secure the wires. They carefully focus the camera on the celebrant and capture the Mass on tape.
When the Mass is over, George Bottarini collects the tape and quickly brings it to Town Hall. The student takes down the equipment and returns it to the storage place. Stephen is pleased to know that he is able to help the homebound and that his time commitment is just once a month, for about one hour and a half. He says that the work is not difficult and that he was trained to use the equipment.
