A Time of Crisis
/An audio of the homily as preached can be found here. Below is the text.
We should all mourn the loss of public Masses. Let’s take a moment to ask God to forgive us for the many ways and many times we have taken the Mass for granted, to thank Him from the depth of our heart for the gift of the Mass, and to beg Him to restore it to the faithful soon.
This crisis is real. A few days ago, the Centers for Disease Control released four predictions regarding how the virus will play out, using ample data from other countries and the best scientists in the world. They estimate that if no significant measures are made to slow the virus, that between 160 million and 214 million people in the United States will contract the virus within a year. There will be between 200,000 and 1.7 million deaths. And between 2.4 million to 21 million people will need to be hospitalized. We have less than 1 million hospital beds right now in the entire country.
The urgency now is to slow the spread of the virus so that it does not overwhelm the healthcare system. COVID-19 has overwhelmed the healthcare system of Italy. Older patients are being denied hospital care as Italy is medical personnel is forced to practice a kind of war-time triage medicine. They have issued and enforced a nation-wide lock down, closing all businesses serving the public except those that sell food and medicine, and severely restricting travel within the country.
Give this, it is our duty to cooperate with public health official to slow down the spread of the virus. We do this not from fear, but for justice and charity to all the members of our society. I am not afraid of dying. And maybe you’re not. But we do not have the right to be reckless with the health of other people. If you start coughing, develop a fever, or experience shortness of breath, STAY HOME. Practice the recommended hygiene protocols and social distancing and limiting your contact with large numbers of people.
I’ve been reading about the history of plagues. There was one in the 3rd century Roman Empire called Cyprian’s Plague. Cyprian was a Catholic saint and bishop of Carthage. He did not start the plague, but he wrote a lot about, and thus it was named after him. During that plague, the death toll was about 30% of the population in much of the empire, except for those areas with a large concentration of Christians. That is because Christians cared for the sick while many pagans left them to die. Also, Christians showed tremendous trust in God’s promises of eternal life in the midst of so much death and suffering. Many people converted to Christianity because of their witness.
In crisis, some people act selfishly. Like buying all the toilet paper. We need to act with the love of Christ for all. Since we cannot pray in large numbers in the church, we need to make our homes true domestic churches, which they are supposed to be always.
Practice charity. Call elderly people you know and ask if they need anything, like groceries. The parish will be engaging in such an effort. We will also increase our online presence so that we can connect with each other and discover new ways to practice our ancient faith.
Do you remember what I told you to say, on Ash Wednesday, when someone asks, “what is that smudge on your head?” I said tell them, “I wear these Ashes to remind myself that I am a sinner, that I am dying, and that the most important task in my life right now is getting right with God.” God is now speaking a similar message to us through events far more powerful than my words. Please take advantage the expanded hours for confession offered at the parish starting this week.
Let us pray with great confidence. That God may intervene to lessen the severity of this chastisement. When David prayed, God stopped the plague that afflicted Israel. Queen Esther prayed to God to stop the planned holocaust of the Jews living in Assyria, and they were spared. Let us pray that God fill us with wisdom and courage and love. That we be a light to the world as our saintly ancestors were during times of plague. Let us pray for all the victims of the virus. For medical personnel who are working so hard. For civil leaders, who must feel overwhelmed right now. For people losing their jobs and afraid of what is to come.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman seeking ordinary water represents humanity trying to find happiness in created things when our deepest thirst can only be satisfied by God. We are learning how fragile things really are; that no matter our technical advancement or material prosperity, we cannot prevent every disaster. Hopefully, more people will begin to consider the desire for the eternal, buried in their heart, and turn to him, the source of the living water which satisfies that desire.