We have now gone through our first Sunday since the lockdown. It seems that parishioners are still leery about going to public places, even to Church. We had plenty of empty seats at all the Masses, especially at the 12:30 pm Mass. Again a reminder that we have morning Mass at 8:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with lots of space, and Mass again at 7:00 pm with an hour of Adoration and Confessions beforehand.
Everyone needs to assess his own level of risk. We have done as much as we reasonably can to allay your anxieties when you do come to Church. The pews are roped off and marked to ensure six foot social distancing. We ask that you sanitize your hands as you enter the Church. If you are not able to use sanitizer, we will provide gloves. Although the pews are wiped down with disinfectant after each Mass, avoid touching anything while in the Church. Wear a mask and/or gloves if you feel the need. If you are concerned about receiving Communion, make a Spiritual Communion instead. Sanitize your hands again as you leave the Church. For your protection, I am carefully monitoring my own health, and washing my hands thoroughly before Mass and again before Communion. The ciboria on the Altar are covered. For now Communion is only in the hand during Mass. It is not possible to eliminate all risk — even a level four virology lab has some degree of risk — but the procedures that we have in place are more than proportionate to the danger. If you are particularly vulnerable, continue to stay home until you feel safe going out.
We have been without the Eucharist for three months. It is in the Sacrifice of the Mass that the ‘the work of our redemption is accomplished.’ At our first Mass since the lockdown, we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi (the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). The Gospel reading was from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. It was Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist, comparing his real presence in the Eucharist to the manna that the Israelites ate in the desert. Just as the manna sustained the people of God in their long sojourn in the wilderness, it is Jesus in the Eucharist that spiritually sustains us now. Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He is talking about the life of the Holy Spirit in us. As I am fond of repeating: “Just as the soul gives life to the body, so the Holy Spirit gives life to the soul, and we are only truly alive when we are alive in the Holy Spirit.” It is in the celebration of the Eucharist that we are given true life, and given it abundantly.
