Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the psalmist proclaims: “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24). He could shout this out boldly because, when Israel was threatened by hostile forces and cried out for help, God swiftly came to the rescue. “In my straits, I called upon the Lord. The Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is with me. I fear not” (vv. 5-6). I encourage you to pray this psalm in its entirety with fervent hope as we today are besieged by an elusive, unseen enemy in COVID-19.
It is now about two and a half months since we have been living in lockdown mode because of the coronavirus pandemic. To me it seems more like two and a half years! One day just blends into the next. It is hard sometimes to differentiate one from the other.
That is why I think it is so important to try and follow a daily routine as normal as possible even in these abnormal days. So, instead of lounging around in my pajamas in the morning and watching “The View,” I rise early and go over to the chapel to celebrate Mass.
It is an interesting experience — sometimes meditative and deeply spiritual, sometimes frustrating. In a sense, I am always lonely because our parishioners are not there, but I am never lonesome because the entire heavenly host — all the angels and saints — are there. This truth is proclaimed in the preface of the Eucharistic Prayer in each and every Mass that is ever celebrated. Be that as it may, when I look out into an empty space, I would much rather see human beings in the flesh. It’s an incarnational thing, I guess.
To celebrate Mass without a congregation, I find it especially important to prepare myself mentally before Mass to insure that I enter prayerfully into the Sacred Mysteries. Otherwise, there is the danger of celebrating in a matter-of-fact way, unreflectively, and primarily out of a sense of duty. This can easily happen if there are many thoughts, concerns and worries that preoccupy the celebrant before Mass.
I am reminded of Saint Charles Borromeo, who spoke about a priest complaining that a thousand thoughts filled his mind and distracted him from God when he came into church to say Mass. Saint Charles asked him to consider what he was he doing in the sacristy before Mass, and how he collected his thoughts and remained recollected in anticipation of celebrating.
To do so, I have discovered that the prayers before Mass in the back of the Roman Missal are particularly useful. These, I am afraid, are a neglected treasure nowadays. In one of them, Saint Thomas Aquinas evokes the image of the celebrant as “one sick” coming to “the physician of life.” He prays that the priest, cured of his sickness by celebrating Mass, may receive “the bread of angels,” and at last, at the end of his life, come to see Jesus face to face, whom he is soon to receive “veiled under these species” of bread and wine. Therefore, when this pandemic has subsided, I think all of us, both clergy and laity, should be more mindful of preparing ourselves better to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. We really need to clear out the clutter in our minds and curb the endless chatter in the pews and in the sacristy before Mass.
So, even though parishioners are not physically present to me when I celebrate Mass, they are present in a special way as I offer all their needs and the longings of their heart, along with the gifts of bread and wine, to our Father in heaven. Never to be outdone in generosity, he returns those simple earthly gifts to us as the precious Body and Blood of his son to nourish and sustain us on our life’s pilgrimage to our heavenly homeland.
It is then, at the moment of Communion, when I receive Jesus sacramentally, that I join all of our parishioners to myself in spiritual communion with the Lord. Sometimes I have an intense sensation of unity with them in the Lord. Most of the time, I don’t. Of course, it is not the sensation of unity that counts, but rather the reality of that unity, which is what holy Communion is really all about.
What a privilege and a blessing it is for me to pray for our parishioners daily, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Why not ask Jesus to have your parish priests remember your special intentions when they celebrate Mass privately? Our Lord will surely make sure they are included.
So, no matter how unfamiliar or uncomfortable these days of isolation may be, remember, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Father Edward Kolla is parochial vicar for Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, Vineland
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