When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?... and other questions.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada

I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.

Churches are closed; Mass is prayed in private. From the isolation of their homes, if they have homes, people are watching Mass online (...if they have the means) and making acts of spiritual communion (...if they have a will to pray). Will the absence of Masses with congregation effect a longing for its return among those deprived of its celebration? Will the suppression of public Masses renew liturgical fervour and possibly kindle zeal for more reverent liturgies?

Is the Faith in decline? It certainly was before the declaration of a pandemic. Is the decline of the Faith likely to accelerate in the wake of the current plague? Will there be justice for those affected spiritually (and materially - Are priests being sustained when there is no Sunday collection?) by the colonization of a contagion and the fear it has induced?

Going Nowhere Fast

Measures are being taken to slow the spread of the Virus. This we all know and endure. What measures are being taken to advance (not merely sustain) the Faith? Or, are we under the impression that there is little that can be done to increase the Faith among believers and non-believers, and that efforts to evangelize the unchurched are a luxury meant for easier times? Has a microscopic organism effected what persecution in earlier times could not? Will acquiescence and apathy become the new norm? Some would answer that for the past 50 years acquiescence and apathy have become the new norm among Catholics infected by the virus of liberal religion.

Medication is the opiate of the people.

More than a few prominent faithful Catholics and many others have asked why is it that liquor stores remain open while churches are closed?

Chicago Tribune

(T)he (Illinois) governor’s executive order issued Friday allows liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries to continue operations. What does it say about society when churches are closed but liquor stores are open?

That which happened in Illinois has also happened in most if not all places.

Those of us old enough to remember will recall that in countries of the Soviet Bloc, during the era of the communist menace, the doors of churches were locked and buildings were converted to theatres, factories and other state-sanctioned offices, or dismantled for building materials or destroyed entirely. Yet, there was always plenty of vodka to drink; plenty of booze to sedate and mollify the population.

Covid19 and Controversy

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/kschiffer/faithful-to-bishops-please-dont-take-away-sacraments

Along with a widespread threat of illness and death, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has also introduced into the Catholic world controversy and disagreement over the availability of sacraments during this worldwide crisis.

https://weareaneasterpeople.com/

The sacraments are the spiritual “Personal Protective Equipment” of Catholics. They enable us to work in the field hospital of the sick and dying.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, Catholics are being deprived of what is central to our Faith—the sacraments. The sacraments are gifts of inestimable value: They open up for us the gates of Heaven and bestow upon us graces that enable us to be loving disciples of Christ our Savior.

We, the faithful, appeal to our bishops to provide safe access to the Anointing of the Sick and to some form of public celebration of Mass during this time of strife and pandemic. We appeal to them to keep our churches open for prayer and adoration. This appeal’s intent is to show forth the intrinsic value of such spiritual support given the current crisis we face as Catholics. We have a great desire to have our spiritual needs met in the safest and most effective way possible.

Letter from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Penitentiary Major, to Penitentiaries and Confessors on the occasion of Easter 2020.

I never imagined I would have to write a letter to the Penitentiaries and to all the Confessors, in times of pandemic, with the restrictions and social distancing that, in many countries, is asked to stem the spread of the infection. 

Nevertheless, Mercy does not stop and God does not distance himself! 

The social distancing required for health reasons, while necessary, cannot and must never translate into ecclesial distancing, let alone in theological-sacramental distancing.

In this sense, in communion with the Holy Father Francis, the Apostolic Penitentiary promulgated a Decree on 19 March, together with a Note, in order to clarify the meaning of the Indulgences granted to support the work of the Confessors and sacred Ministers who they are in the front line alongside the sick, the dying and all the highly deserved health workers.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

St. Augustine of Hippo gave us probably the most profound commentary on the Last Supper ever preached. He explains Christ’s washing of the feet of the Apostles in unsentimental terms. It isn’t about all people washing each other’s feet. It’s precisely about priestly service to the people. 

Augustine teaches in his exegesis of the washing of feet that ministry can be dirty and risky. He interprets the mandatum or foot washing by Christ through the lens of the Song of Songs. 

You will recall that, in the Song of Songs, when the lover calls to his beloved to rise and come to him, she demures. At first she says that she has already washed her feet and she doesn’t want to dirty them. If she got up, her feet would get dirty again. Getting dirty feet, however, is precisely what the priest is supposed to do. The priest must risk contact with the dirt in his constant battle against the world, the flesh and the Devil for the sake of the people he serves. Priests must risk getting dirty in order to serve, in order to go to Love Himself.

These Lessons and Our Current Pandemic by Allison Tobola Low, MD, MA

This pandemic is a desert-like experience in which we will face temptations of all varieties. In particular, we need to avoid making demands of God and putting God to the test. 

In this crisis, recommendations are being made that impose severe limitations on businesses, leisure activities, and our daily lives. An element of control has been taken away from us. These necessary measures have also impacted our ability as Catholics to attend Mass and receive the sacraments. As a result, many are feeling a variety of emotions, including anxiety, sadness, heartbreak, frustration, and anger.

People can debate these interventions after the fact, but the civil authorities and medical experts are trying to make the best decisions possible based on the models they have. Are the experts overreacting? Underreacting? It is too soon to know. But our bishops and priests must prudently listen to these experts and, through prayerful discernment, make difficult decisions that they believe are just, for the common good and that fulfill their duty of governing and protecting their flock. 

And our shepherds must ask the same question we too must ask: how are we to best care for ourselves and each other? In her wisdom, the Church has always emphasized that we must avoid two extremes. We cannot focus solely on earthly things and excessively worry about our body because this leads to a “cult of the body” (CCC 2289). But at the same time, we are human persons – body and soul. We are not merely spirits who happen to have a body. And while our spiritual health is of the utmost importance, we must take reasonable care to preserve our life. We cannot be careless and neglectful of life as it is a gift that has been entrusted to us by God (see the CCC 2280, 2288; and Evangelium Vitae, no 2).

There are many opinions as to how this is best lived out, especially in our current crisis. And it is especially challenging since the situation is unpredictable and changing daily. Our situation calls for prudence and not carelessness, patience and not discouragement, courage and not rashness, trust and not doubt. And now is a time when we need unity and not division, solidarity and not selfishness, hope and not excessive worry. Together, let us pray for leaders and decision-makers (bishops, priests, civil leaders, etc.), healthcare workers and researches, the sick and suffering, the people of the world, and for an end to this crisis. 

And above all, let us put our trust and hope in God’s loving providence. 

And as Pope Benedict XVI explains in his book, the devil misinterprets Psalm 91. God here is not asking us to test him but is teaching us an important truth: 

Someone who obeys God’s will knows that in all the horrors he may experience, he does not lose a final refuge. He knows that the foundation of the world is love and that, therefore, even in a situation where no man is able or willing to help him, he can still continue walking in confidence toward the One who loves him. Such confidence, which Scripture encourages us to have and to which the risen Lord invites us, is something quite different, however, from the reckless defiance of God that would make God into our servant (p.94-95).

So then, where will the present crisis lead?

Luke 18:1-14

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.