In the absence of Mass and the Eucharist, the faithful are encouraged to make a “Spiritual Communion” through the prayer of the Most Holy Redeemer (Anima Christi), the prayer of Self-Offering (Suscipe), or by praying the prayer below:

My Jesus,
I believe that You
     are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
     and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
    receive You sacramentally,
    come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

• Santa Maria del Mar's streaming masses on Facebook and Youtube
• Vatican News Live Streaming Pope Francis’ Masses  
• Catholic TV Mass  
• University of Notre Dame Masses  
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York 
• Adorecast – Live Perpetual Adoration 
• San Fernando Cathedral San Antonio – Mass in Spanish
• Word On Fire Daily Masses 

• Family rosary at home for coronavirus victims
• Praying the divine mercy chaplet for an end to the pandemic
• Read the daily readings
• Live-stream the Mass (many places are offering this)
• Pray the Divine Office as a family
• Use social media to share how your family or community is praying
• Host a video live-stream for members of your parish to pray the rosary
• Take time on Fridays to pray the stations of the cross on your own, connecting your struggles with isolation with Jesus’ solitude in carrying his cross to Calvary
• Watch a movie about the life of Christ and spend time reflecting on this image of Jesus and what it can teach you about your faith and your life

• Call or email (or socially network with) your parents and grandparents, relatives, and any friends who may feel isolated, living alone, or who may be susceptible to the Coronavirus to provide a kind word, to see what help they need, or to provide your love and support in these challenging days.
• Offer to get groceries or other necessities for those who cannot go out.
• Check on friends who live alone to see if they need anything
• Have compassion for those most at risk and advocate for vulnerable populations in society (the elderly, those in poverty, homeless persons, persons with disabilities, those already sick or hospitalized, those with compromised immune systems, among others)

For all of us stuck at home!
 
Many museums have closed their doors but they are open for business online. Here's a list of museums that have put their collections online for you to enjoy.
 
1.       British Museum in London
2.       Guggenheim Museum, New York
3.       National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
4.       Musée d'Orsay, Paris
5.       National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
6.       Pergamon Museum, Berlin
7.       Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
8.       Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
9.       J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
10.    Uffizi Gallery, Italy
11.    Museu de Arte, São Paulo
12.    The Louvre, Paris
13.    The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
 
Online Concerts and Shows

The music and cultural scenes are doing their best to keep going. You can stream nightly concerts and Broadway shows from the comfort of your living room... or perhaps you'd prefer to relax in a bubble bath with an iPad.
14.    15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home
15.    Stream the Met Opera nightly for free
16.    Check out STAGEIT for access to "Shut in and Sing" events and online concerts
17.    NPR is keeping a live list of Virtual Concerts which is updated daily.
Learn Something New
Learning something new doesn't need to cost money. You can keep your brain active and learn a new language in just five minutes a day. Perhaps you would prefer to learn how to draw or code?
18.    Learn a new language in as little as five minutes every day. DuoLingo will even let you set up a "classroom" so you can have accounts for kids to study. Drops is another app that makes learning a new language fun.
19.    Yale University is offering a free course online - The Science of Well-Being - that teaches you how to be happier.
20.    Take a University Art Class - Artsy.net has a list of 10 classes you can take for free online.
21.    Coursera offers free online courses from many of the world's top universities in a wide variety of subjects
22.    Become an Artist with Art ala Carte on YouTube.
23.    Code Academy offers a free online coding course.
Take a Virtual Field Trip
Field trips might be cancelled but just like the virtual museum tours we suggested, here are some ideas for creating an at-home field trip. If you've ever wanted to visit a national park or explore the surface of mars from the comfort of your home, there's never been a better time.
24.    San Diego Zoo
25.    Yellowstone National Park
26.    Explore the Surface of Mars
27.    Live Animal Cams at the San Diego Zoo, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, Houston Zoo, Georgia Aquarium, Smithsonian National Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, Ouwehand Zoo 
28.    Live farm cams from Farm Food 360
29.    The Great Wall of China
30.    Boston Children's Museum
31.    Pompei
32.    Colonial Williamsburg
33.    Ellis Island

Additional Programs
34.    Disney Imagineering In A Box 
35.    LEGO Engineering Workshop 
36.    Skype A Scientist 
37.    LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems
38.    #GADBookClub : Actor Josh Gad (Olaf from Frozen) is reading bedtime stories live on his Twitter every night.
39.    National Geographic Kids 
40.    PBS Kids: Design Squad Global
41.    Scholastic Learn At Home : Day by day projects to keep kids thinking, learning, and growing.
Binge Watch Something New
If you have the feeling that you've watched everything there is to see on Netflix, here are some other platforms you can download to your phone, tablet, or smart TV for a variety of shows and movies.
42.    PlutoTV is always free and has 250+ of free channels to choose from. This has an App for Android or Apple devices, as well as working on your smart TV.
43.    XUMO is a free (ad-supported) service with 200 channels of movies, TV shows and kids' entertainment.
44.    Sundance Now has a 30-day free trial with the code SUNDANCENOW30. This service offers thrillers, True Crime, and Dramas.
45.    Shudder has a 30-day free trial with the code SHUTIN. Shudder specializes in horror movies and thrillers.
46.    UMC has a 30-day free trial with the code UMCFREE30. UMC has the best in Black film and TV.
47.    Acorn TV has a 30-day free trial  with the code FREE30 and is full of British and Australian TV shows
48.    Crunchyroll has a 14-day free trial and access to Anime
49.    Philo is a cable alternative that has a 7-day free trial then it's $20/month for 59+ channels.
50.    Sling TV is another Cable alternative and has two packages available
51.    IMDb TV is an ad-supported movie streaming services
 

We encourage you and your family to reflect on the daily readings, especially on Sundays. You can access the readings on USCCB's website:

• English
• Spanish

• Dominican Friars on Sunday Readings
• Liturgical Press: Give Us This Day
• Magnificat:
  • English
  • Spanish
• Bayard: Living with Christ
• The Word Among Us
  • English
  • Spanish

“When we cannot go to the church, let us turn towards the tabernacle; no wall can shut us out from the good God.” – St. John Vianney

• Establish your new family schedule– allow kids to have a real impact on what their days are going to look like. be intentional about things like screen time, getting outside, and physical activity
• You’re going to have a lot MORE time than usual, so one idea is to slowly expand things that your kids do– if they usually have to practice piano for 30 minutes, for example, maybe make it 35 for the first week, 40 for the next, etc.
• It’s a great time to teach everyone in the family to cook! There are great things like homemade pasta that you probably never have time to make.
• Have a family dance party!
• Have a kid that hasn’t learned to ride a bike yet? This is a perfect time.
• Set aside time after lunch to do family cleaning/sanitizing (wiping down high touch surfaces)
• Review the kids' spring/summer clothing/ switch the closets around from winter to spring
• With the library closed, take advantage of their free services like Hoopla and Overdrive to have access to eBooks and audiobooks
• Do a gratitude exercise with the family– but make up some rule, like “everything has to start with the letter R and include adjectives”
• Nature hiking- maybe the same walk at different times of day, observing how it changes at different times.
• Start indoor seeds (Now is a great time!  Get some native wildflower seeds or vegetable seeds and start them inside and they will be ready to plant in May!)
• Get an area ready outside for gardening.  You can plant radishes and greens now, maybe even some hardy lettuce
• Spring cleaning! Work on fixing up or organizing an area of the house
• Perform music or have a family jam session
• Painting (outside if it’s nice)
• Have the kids prepare a play to perform in the evening
• Using a platform like Nextdoor, organize people to place something in their windows so that families can go walking around the neighborhood and count how many they can find.
• Pillow fight!
• Build a fort
• Have a formal tea party one afternoon. Prepare for it by makes scones or little sandwiches.
• Do an elaborate baking project and share it on social media
• Use up all of those art and craft kits that have collected from your kids’ birthdays!
• Play one board game as a family each week
• Look up one new card game each week and play it –  for example, Cardgo (super easy and quick and everyone can play!  It’s like bingo, but with a pack of cards)
• If you are asked to telework, find a routine and pace that allows for the most productivity, yet does not overwhelm you. Be sure to distance your personal and professional lives at your new “home office.”
• Be conscious of your mental health during this time of great anxiety. Be kind to yourself, be calm, and be patient with yourself and others.

Consider this online mental health support resource