Dear Friends,
As I write these words, it is a Friday evening at the end of the first week of a national emergency surrounding coronavirus. It can be said quite rightly that nothing like this has ever been experienced before in our lifetimes, and I hope, will never be again. The closing of schools and many businesses in order to prevent the spread of an easily transmitted, and for some, a lethal virus, has disrupted the lives of us all. Many are filled with a sense of uncertainty that can lead to a sense of almost crippling fear. We do not know what lies ahead and for just how long our lives will be anything but normal, or ever normal again.
I in many ways share these feelings with you. These days have been eerie and surreal. The sense of panic and fear that has been sweeping across our country in the face of this virus has been unnerving. The closing of our churches has been particularly disturbing. Many feel isolated and alone, perhaps cut off from God, the Church, and the sacraments. Yet, even in the face of these realities, which are undeniable, I still believe that fear and panic are useless and unhelpful. I believe that we are not abandoned and alone, that God is with us, and that God will see us through this time of uncertainty and crisis. I also believe firmly that the Church does not consist of buildings, but of people. We are the Church, all of us God’s people, connected in a common faith in the living Lord, Jesus Christ, who remains with us always, as he promised, until the end of the ages. We can still remain connect-ed to the Lord and to each other, even if we cannot come to church, in our common faith and our common prayer.
In lieu of the possibility of participating in weekly or daily Mass in person, we can still exercise our faith. Even if we are spending more time at home, away from work or school, we can take some of that time for prayer, in whatever form we may choose, be it the Rosary, the reading of the Scriptures, meditation, or other devotions. We may be cut off for the time being from going to church, be we are never cut off from God, and God is never far from us. I would suggest as well that we can make good use of television in these days to augment our life of faith. The celebration of the Mass is available to us daily on several channels in our area, including the Mass sponsored by the Archdiocese of Hartford each day at 10:00 AM on Channel 20, the Mass offered several times daily on EWTN, and the Mass offered from St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre on Long Island on the Catholic Faith Network (CFN). Both EWTN and CFN offer Catholic programming that can enhance and deepen our faith and prayer life in these trying times. We would do well to make good use of these resources.
Please know that all of you are in our prayers each day. We miss your presence here at Mass on Gulf Street and Merwin Avenue. We look forward to the day, which we hope is not too far off, when we will gather again to celebrate the Eucharist together in person. In the meantime, we pray for all those afflicted by this pernicious virus, for those trapped in fear of it, for those in the medical profession (physicians, nurses, lab researchers, and others), and for those in the political leadership of our nation and other nations of the world. May God grant us a swift end to the difficulties wrought by this virus, protect those afflicted and affected by it, and return us to a normal way of life very soon.
For the near future, though, the Mass will be celebrated privately by the priests each day.
You may not be present physically at those Masses, but all of you are remembered, included, and present spiritually at each Mass we celebrate. We must re-member that the Mass is never primarily about the priest or the people. The Mass, each Mass, remembers and celebrates what Christ has done to save us and how Christ is present here and now to us, bringing us through the darkness and uncertainty of this world to himself. All scheduled Mass intentions will be honored in these weeks ahead of us.