The Covid-19 outbreak has been a world-wide hardship. The “invisible enemy”, as it has been termed, has militantly swept across the globe at an alarming pace unleashing its furor to all who stand in its path. The wrath of its being has taken the lives of thousands who are physically compromised, compromising the seemingly healthy, and inciting some level of fear in all who are still healthy. Fear of the enemy has forced closures of schools, businesses, and churches. For me and my fellow Catholics, we have been placed in quarantine, unable to receive the Sacraments or attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to sacramentally receive the Holy Eucharist – Jesus truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity.
Like the Christians of the early Church and those who have fled Christian persecution for centuries, we are now called to unite ourselves to Our Lord in a different way through the blood of the martyrs who lived without the sacraments for years. This union is extremely powerful if we truly believe in the healing and infusing power of the Holy Spirit in our souls and daily life.
For those of us who celebrate Lent, it is unquestionably “the Lentiest Lent we have ever Lented”, as Teresa Tomeo so eloquently stated the other day on her radio show “Catholic Connection”. St. Peter’s Square in Rome – empty; our parish churches, unable to receive parishioners except for private prayer before the Tabernacle – a glimmer of light in the darkness. Truly this is one of the saddest times in our current history.
Lent, a period of 40 days to reflect on the ministry, passion, and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ; a time to sacrifice; a time to grow deeper in our relationship with our Saviour; a time to look hopefully to the celebration of Easter with the resurrection of Jesus – a triumphant liberation over suffering and death. Then, in the midst of it all, Covid-19 changes the landscape of the world and the lives of mankind forever; our hearts and souls presented with a new, unchartered challenge: imposed quarantine from the sacraments.
Quarantine: What exactly does it mean? According to Dictionary.com, Quarantine means “a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.” Let’s break this down a little more. Quarantine comes from the Italian “quaranta” meaning “forty”; “quarantina” meaning “forty days”. By the mid-17th century we have the word “quarantine” – Forty Days.
Throughout our salvation history, the number 40 comes up frequently enough that scholars have considered the number to be associated with a trial, or time of probation. For instance, in the Old Testament God destroyed the earth with a flood – it rained for 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:12). Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:18), and then there were the Israelites who wandered for 40 years in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2-5). In the New Testament, we see Jesus being tempted for 40 days and 40 nights (Mt. 4:2). Let’s not forget the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3). If we look at this in our current state in our Diocese, from the time the last public Mass was held in our Diocese (March 17, 2020) until the end of April, 40 days will have passed (not counting Sundays).
We are experiencing a quarantine in the Church. The Pope and our bishops are trying to protect their flock. By limiting exposure to the “unseen enemy” named Covid-19, public Masses and reception of the sacraments have been temporarily suspended. The people of God, hurt, angry, and frustrated at a perceived lack of faith by the hierarchy in God’s protection from being harmed by the virus. It isn’t a lack of faith at all. They, like everyone else, are human and just as vulnerable to this threat of harm, and it is because of this threat that our priests and bishops MUST be protected. Without them we are unable to receive any of the much sought after Sacraments of Confession and Eucharist. As much as we are missing the sacraments and our priests, it is important to remember that our priests are missing us, too. Our hearts break in unison for each other.
As the hearts of men lament over the separation, we are faced with a decision: fall into despair and spiritual ruin, or gird our loins (cf Job 38:3), arm ourselves for battle (Eph. 6:13-17), and keep Christ as our Sovereign Lord to lead the charge.
As for me and my house we are putting on the full armour of God. We are at war! A war for souls! The enemy is out there, waiting to devour any who dare cross its path. Now is a crucial time to focus on what we DO have in our spiritual arsenal. Continue to pray, meditate on Scripture, watch Mass and partake in spiritual communion, and look with joyful hope to the day when we CAN reunite with Our Lord in the reception of the sacraments. A glorious day, indeed! A day that I, for one, am eagerly looking forward to!
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The Adventures of Sally 
Hi Sally,
This was very well written. I love how you researched and showed the 40 day connection. Did you also know that there is a St Corona who is the patron saint of pandemics? I agree with most everything you wrote about but I disagree with not having mass available for those of us who are able to attend. I think it was good that the bishops gave a dispensation for those high risk groups, namely the elderly. My concern is what does this say about our church. Must we always give in to the State? The Eucharist is our main source of spiritual nourishment. Priests are called to celebrate the sacraments no matter what the cost. The real danger is people losing their souls not their lives. St Damien of Malachi could have said, I am not going to serve these people, they have leprosy and I might catch it. Instead he risked his life to bring them the sacraments and eventually lost his own life to the disease. He was a heroic martyr.
Our Bishops in the US have grown accustomed to lukewarmness, many of them turning a blind eye to the sex abuse scandals. They have not spoken out against life issues, many even supporting pro choice politicians. These are dangerous scary times and I believe the devil is having his way. Jesus tells us not to be fearful of those who can kill the body. Yes this is a scary disease, and I am a germaphobe! But I Just wanted to give you some food for thought.
By the way do you ever read Mark Mallett?
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Hi Nancy! Thanks for your comment. I agree with you on the offering of public Mass. A topic to extrapolate for another post.
The purpose of today’s post was to address the spiritual battle we are currently in with the imposed restrictions on Catholics whether we agree with them or not. Like you, I wish public Mass was still available, but that is where we must turn the angst around and pray for our bishops. They carry heavy burdens with the decisions they make, especially ones like suppressing Mass. We must pray for our priests who want to celebrate Mass and the sacraments with their flock. Their hearts are hurting just as much as ours are, and they cry with us.
This is powerful! You are such a great, inspiring, and highly insightful writer! ❤️
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Thank you, Zahra! I felt very compelled to write this.
I found this interest and intriguing
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Thank you, Debbie! I felt it needed to be written.