As I write this, we have just last week completed the most bizarre and unusual Holy Week I have ever experienced, and I would venture to say that most Christians-and certainly most practicing Catholics-have ever experienced. While many of us have taken to a prayerful recollection of the Holy Week events, I know that many others continue to question why public Masses are presently prorogued while entire communities of people can be found at the local grocery store or Walmart. I know that seems to be the appearance in rural East Tennessee where I live. Social media gives the impression that there are many Catholics and other Christian people who are frustrated at the present state of affairs.
I know that my heart particularly goes out to those people who have been preparing to be received into the Church this Easter and whose formal welcome to our Catholic ranks is being unceremoniously delayed by COVID-19. My prayers are with them, especially because most people who are in a situation of delay in receiving the Sacraments of Initiation have some idea of when it is that they will be received into the Church, but this year, the "Tiber Swim Team" doesn't know with certainty the day of the meet.
Despite the uncertainty and unease in which the present situation places our local and universal ecclesiastical affairs, one thing that we absolutely must remember is that God is in control. We may not know with certainty when the present crisis will end and when the quarantine measures will be relaxed in such a way that we can return to some modicum of normality, especially within the life of the Church. We can, however, say with certainty that these days have been given to us in accordance with God's will and we can use them for our sanctification.
We can choose to sulk about the fact that we have not been able to fully engage in the life of the Church, or we can use this time to more fully appreciate the spiritual gifts that we have and that the whole Church has, and hopefully we will return to a more complete sacramental life without taking these things for granted.
One thing we absolutely must remember is that Jesus Christ has died and is truly Risen. We can have absolute confidence that the Lord is Risen and that He will one day return to us as He said He would. The tomb is empty and the Church is still here.
Very often I think that too many Catholics take their access to the Sacraments for granted, and perhaps I myself have been guilty of this at various points in my life and spiritual journey. There are some who only come on Christmas and Easter. This year they couldn't come on Easter. There are many who simply come whenever they feel like it, not respecting the command of God to keep Holy the Lord's Day every week, but they might cut out on Mass when their favorite sports or recreation are happening and they want to be a part of that instead, people just don't have time for the things of God. I've even met a few folks who will readily admit that they quit observing the faith and coming to Mass because they have somehow been scandalized by their pastor or their Bishop, or other leadership within the Church. Friends, our pastors and our Bishops have a great deal of authority in the Church under God, but at the Resurrection on the Last Day they will not be our judges. We will be judged based on how we fulfilled God's commands in loving God and neighbor with humility and with an obedient spirit. Some of us understand that this is a daily struggle for ourselves and others.
It bears noting, however, that God does tend to use ordinary life events to get our attention, and perhaps we should listen more closely to hear God in the events of the present pandemic and all of the situations which are connected to it and surround it. So many of the things which we value as a society have been taken from us by the pandemic, and some of these things people tend to place ahead of the things of God.
A microscopic virus is the tool that is showing us what it is that we worship. So many are concerned because the economy is collapsing beneath the weight of this pandemic. Rather than put money, monetary policy and economics in their proper place at the service of humanity, too many people worship money and economic gain, and we are concerned because that money and those gains are being severely tested, and many in society are panicking over the results.
Rather than put sports in their proper place as a gift from God for the service of human rest, exercise, and leisure, we often worship athletes and the sports they play. Now we can't attend any sporting events, and there are nothing but old replays to watch on the internet or on television.
These are terrible side effects of this horrible disease, but God can use them as a way to cause us to reflect on what's really important.
I've seen lots of people on social media and in person talk about slights to religious liberty in the midst of all this closure. There have been so many who did not use their religious liberty to observe the faith, and now they can't observe the faith in a public gathering.
The tomb is empty, and we need to make sure that our hearts are not.
The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico is the first diocese in the country to resume the public celebration of the Mass, and they do so under some very strict and special restrictions from their Bishop. As we eventually return, may we always remember that we are there because of the Risen Christ. Let us pray for the souls of all who have died and all of those affected by COVID-19, and may we never take the Sacraments for granted again.
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