Our service continues

The Catholic Register, 02 April 2020

What is a priest to do in a pandemic? He is to do his utmost to celebrate the sacraments.

What are priests to do in a pandemic? Much fewer things than they would ordinarily do. But the one thing they must do is to keep doing the one thing which only they can do. They cannot abandon the sacraments.

A priest apart from the sacraments is an absurdity, even a contradiction in terms. A priest apart from the sacraments may do many good things, but he is missing something essential.

So what is a priest to do in a pandemic? He is to do his utmost to celebrate the sacraments. A priest who lays aside the sacraments during a pandemic would be like a doctor who lays aside medicine, or a police officer who lays aside public order.

“As clergy we must take seriously the recommendations of health experts and the government,” wrote Archbishop Michael Mulhall to all of us Kingston priests.

“Nevertheless, the role of the Church is the salvation of souls. In times of crisis the Church has always been there to strengthen the faith, hope and love of people, nourish their spiritual lives, and through prayer and worship implore divine assistance to aid the efforts of scientists and researchers to find a cure and restore a normalcy to society.”

That’s remembering the “priority of the spiritual life,” as Archbishop Mulhall began his letter to us. The spiritual life always takes priority of course, but in the anxiety over a pandemic it’s possible even for bishops and priests to fear that which can kill the body but not the soul, even though Jesus was explicit that we should not fear that but rather the one who can kill the body and the soul (cf. Matthew 10:28). I was thus grateful to the archbishop for that timely reminder.

So what should we priests be doing when public gatherings are prohibited, and even our churches are closed?

We continue the sacramental life of the Church as best as we are able to do.

Priests are offering the Holy Mass privately. That’s obviously not ideal, but only two weeks into the state of emergency we need to be patient. A state of emergency is just that — things are done on an emergency basis, meaning without an abundance of time to think through every aspect and consider every option.

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