Friday, March 13, 2020

Corona Virus, A Big Challenge

   I have just cancelled 3 Lenten parish missions due to Corona Virus. I did so considering not only myself but the parishioners where I was due to go and most especially my fellow friars who are elderly and very vulnerable to the virus.

   Now that I have said that I would like to offer some thoughts from a spiritual and religious point of view. Many are upset by cancellations and restrictions by various diocese and churches.  Keep in mind that preventing disease and sickness is just as important a part of the healing ministry of the Church as is the curing and treatment of those diseases. We have to balance our liturgical preferences with this moral responsibility. Communion on the hand rather than the tongue is not a decrease in reverence, but rather a different form of reverence.  As a priest saliva on my hands which can then come in contact with other communicants is not a good thing.

   In Italy and in some diocese of our country churches are closing.  I believe that in those cases it is necessary and may be necessary in more places very soon.  Some, in extreme emotional response, are saying that their access to Jesus has been blocked.  STOP IT! Yes, the Eucharist, for us Catholics, is the source and summit of Christian life. Jesus is present there in a special way, but it is not the only way that He is present.  He is present when we help the poor and tend to the sick (which is what the restrictions are doing.  He tells us Himself is present wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in His name.  Think about this and become more attuned to these means of encountering the Lord. The only thing to block us from meeting Jesus is a hard and stubborn heart.

   For all of us the days ahead may be difficult, but they are also possibly days of growth, days of realizing that we can live with a lot less, days of reaching out and helping others, days of realizing that all of us in the world, not just the USA, are in this together.  God Bless and stay well!



No comments:

Post a Comment

Moving Out and Moving Ahead Cautiosly