An Impossible Unity

I have not blogged for a few days, not because nothing has been happening, but it’s been tough to find the right time and the right Wifi connection to get it done!

This evening (my Tuesday evening, your break of day on Tuesday), I was celebrating Mass in the shadow of the Franz Josef Glacier on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. If you promise not to laugh at me I will tell you that I did so with tears in my eyes, because I thought of all the things that I have seen there is nothing that compares in beauty to this tremendous gift. And I am aware that throughout the world there are now many Catholics who are not able to receive this gift due to the Coronavirus. This evening I remembered you.

There was a line from the first reading from the Prophet Daniel:

We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,  no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,  no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. But with contrite heart and humble spirit  let us be received; As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,  or thousands of fat lambs, So let our sacrifice be in your presence today  as we follow you unreservedly;  for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.

Perhaps for many Catholics it is not possible to physically participate in the sacrifice of the Mass: to make that offering to the Lord. But as the Prophet says, so then “with contrite hearts and humble spirit let us be received.” In other words, let this be our offering and let this offering be as if it were “rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs!” Let this be our offering: an offering of our hearts to the Lord. If we cannot gather physically as God’s people at the Eucharist, then let’s be united with hearts that are directed towards the single goal of acknowledging the Presence of the Lord where we are.

I want to point out two things that the Eucharist teaches that we should not lose just because we may not be able to attend Mass: obedience and mercy. Obedience teaches us the virtue of humility, because in the sight of God’s power we are dust: a lesson this season of Lent clearly reminds us of. Obedience to the Lord opens us to the grace that heals us. This is not a public service announcement for the CDC, but our obedience to what is being asked of us by public officials while this virus is contained is for our good and for the healing of the world. If we cannot learn obedience in simple ways and adapt our behavior because of our circumstances, then how will we ever learn obedience to the Lord Jesus who calls us to be perfect as His Heavenly Father is perfect?

The second lesson of the Eucharist is mercy. We cannot stop begging the Lord for mercy during this time. Every morning, every prayer, every opportunity we have should be filled with a plea for the Lord’s mercy on the world. 

Being together in obedience and in mercy, we can experience a unity that seems impossible in the face of necessary social distancing. Christ alone is the unity of humanity. Christ alone through the Spirit holds us close to the Father.