We are living in a time of pandemic, and as a result of that pandemic, we are living in a time of sacramental privation, when the public celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has literally been cancelled throughout this diocese, and in the entire Union for fear that the COVID-19 coronavirus may spread at the public gatherings that are the ordinary Sunday Mass throughout the Catholic world.
Of course, Mass is still being celebrated in our parishes, but if we may borrow a term from the Extraordinary Form, these are private Masses. In the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop Stika has requested that the doors of churches be locked if private Mass is taking place in the church in order to prevent people from gathering in an environment where contagion might spread, even though he is allowing for churches to be opened at other times for Eucharistic adoration or private prayer.
Some Holy Trinity parishioners, as well as many other people, have expressed frustration to me that not only is public Mass suspended, they can't receive the Eucharist at all. People are frustrated, and it's easy to understand why. Even though we have been presented with many opportunities to join in Holy Mass via the Internet or television and make a Spiritual Communion, this is still not the same as being at Mass, and the Church doesn't pretend that it is.
The contagion that is the COVID-19 coronavirus is a real threat and a real concern, however, (especially to those of us in an immunocompromised or vulnerable group to whom the disease can easily spread and place in grave danger) and so many of us will celebrate Holy Week from a distance, and it seems that this state of affairs could remain in place for some time. Many people are asking if there is anything that they can do to join in the prayer of the Church in a deeper way during this time since they cannot be at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass...
I want to commend to those laity who have not committed to praying part or all of the Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office every day that now, in this time when we do not have the ability to attend Holy Mass, is a great time to begin doing so. Priests, deacons, and religious all over the world are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day, but there are many lay people who do so as well and it is highly encouraged by the Church.
In a time when we cannot attend Holy Mass because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Liturgy of the Hours provides us with a way to unite ourselves with the prayer of the Church in a daily way. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Church's highest and most important prayer. Next to it in importance is not the Holy Rosary, as valuable as that is, and it is not Eucharistic adoration, as important as Eucharistic adoration is to our love of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. The Church's second highest and second most important prayer is the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office. If you cannot be at Mass, praying the Divine Office might be the next best thing. Why? When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we are praying and participating in a liturgical act. In normal times, the Liturgy of the Hours could even be celebrated in front of a congregation with a deacon or priest celebrating, and even potentially delivering a short homily! So if you pray the Liturgy of the Hours, you are praying liturgically, and you are praying the Church's official daily liturgical prayer.
Someone might legitimately ask: "But deacon, doesn't praying the Liturgy of the Hours require me to obtain expensive liturgical books, and manuals to learn how to navigate them? I've heard that this is difficult?" If you have the resources to obtain the books, either the four volume Liturgy of the Hours or the Christian Prayer volume, along with an Ordo or guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, that's wonderful. It's always great to use liturgical books when doing liturgical things, and we should always do that in the case of the Mass itself. Using the books is something I would definitely recommend if you can afford it, but what if you can't? It can be an expense, I know because my set was expensive.
Fortunately, through the blessing of the internet, reliable sites such as IBreviary provide an app for you to use to pray the daily Liturgy of the Hours, and you don't even need a guide or an Ordo, they do all the work of laying out the daily Liturgy of the Hours for you, it can be right there at your fingertips.
As a deacon, I made a promise to my Bishop when I was ordained that I would pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day, but I was praying it for years before I was ever ordained a deacon as a layman. To be honest, over the years, the Divine Office has become something of a habit, I've grown to take it for granted, just as I and many others have grown to take the Holy Mass too much for granted.
However, I have found that because of this pseudo-quarantine in which we find ourselves, I have come to value praying my daily office perhaps more than I ever have before. Many of you know that I don't drive so I rely on my wife or on others to ensure that I can get to Mass or to the Church for any other functions that I have to engage in. Even though Bishop Stika is allowind his deacons to participate in private masses during this time, it's not something I've had the opportunity to do, it would require me to ask someone to take me to the church who could not participate in what we were doing, and I don't feel that is right. As a result, I not only feel isolated from my fellow parishioners and our brothers and sisters, but from my brother clergy as well. I thank the Lord for social media because Father Patrick and I can at least talk regularly there!
However, through the Liturgy of the Hours I am not isolated from anyone. I am connected with my brother deacons and priests who are also praying it all over the world. I am connected with the religious and the lay people who are praying it every day. Through the Liturgy of the Hours, even though we cannot be together in worship, we are worshiping together.
I commend the Liturgy of the Hours to you, and I call upon our parishioners at Holy Trinity and everywhere to avail themselves during this time of the daily Office. I firmly believe that anyone who does this won't regret it, and I think that this holy prayer habit will last you far beyond our current pandemic crisis.
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