Diary of a Pandemic

Seeing the Catholic casualty of this crisis

04/26/2020

Luke 24:13-35 That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. So, they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Someone sent me an email with a personal “diary” they have kept since the quarantine started. It read: “Day 1 – I can do this! Got enough food and wine to last a month! Day 2 – Opening my eighth bottle of wine, I fear my wine supplies might not last! Day 3 – Strawberries: some have 210 seeds, some have 235 seeds. Who knew?! Day 4 – 8:00 p.m. Removed my day pajamas and put on my night pajamas. Day 5 – Today, I tried to make hand sanitizer. It came out as Jello shots! Day 6 – I got to take the garbage out. I am so excited, I can’t decide what to wear. Day 7 – Laughing way too much at my own jokes!

Day 8 – Went to a new restaurant called “the kitchen.” You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. I have no idea how this place is still in business. Day 9 – I put liquor bottles in every room. Tonight I am going bar-hopping. Day 10 – Struck up a conversation with a spider today. Seems nice. He’s a web-designer. Day 11 – Isolation is hard. I swear my fridge just said: “What the heck to you want now?” Day 12 – I realized why dogs get to excited about something moving outside, walks or car rides. I think I just barked at a squirrel. Day 13 – I discovered that if you keep a glass of wine in each hand, you can’t accidentally touch your face. Day 14 – Watched birds fight over a worm. The Cardinals lead the Blue Jays 3-1.” Now, clearly that diary was written by a Catholic, because no self-respecting Protestant would talk about their day pajamas.

There is, of course, a much darker side of any diary kept during this pandemic, that is, there have been many casualties in this crisis. For instance, as of Friday, 191,000 people had died globally from the COVID-19 virus, and over 50,000 people have died here in the United States. We pray for their peaceful repose at Mass. On the economic front 26,000,000 Americans have filed for unemployment in the last five weeks alone. In February the unemployment rate was at 3.5%, now its almost 20%, which is what it was during the Great Depression. And the intangible emotional toll was startlingly symbolized by the man threatening to jump off the I-49 bridge between Fort Smith and Fayetteville on Wednesday, stopping traffic for nine hours! Someone posted a very insightful observation saying: “We are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat.” That is, some people are relatively safe in a life-raft (like the diary I described earlier), while others are shipwrecked emotionally or economically, materially or even mortally (which is the dark side of many diaries). There are many casualties in this war.

I also want to add the spiritual dimension of this pandemic, and its uniquely Catholic character. Naturally, all religions want to congregate and celebrate their faith in their own houses of worship. That lack of community life is a painful part of this pandemic. But most religions have leaped over that hurdle with by live-streaming their services and sermons. But not being able to gather for the Sunday Eucharist hits at the very heart of Catholicism, which cannot be hurdled by live-streaming Masses. Why? Well, because the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.” It elaborates on and emphasizes that by adding: “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it” (Catechism, 1324).

In other words, without the Sunday Mass, Catholicism as a religion might as well pack it up and go home. The Eucharist contains everything the Church offers. The late, great Fr. Benedict Groeschel said movingly about the Mass, quoting St. Augustine: “We may in prayer by his great mercy ‘touch for an instant that Fountain of Life where [God] feeds Israel forever.” This pandemic has put a plug in that Fountain of Life and Israel is not being fed, but rather she is being forced to fast.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not questioning or criticizing the decision to suspend Sunday Masses. I’m sure it’s the right thing to do. I am not going to stand in front of the church carrying a big sign that read: “Liberate Fort Smith!” King Solomon himself would struggle to find a wise solution, weighing all the factors, finances, feelings and even faith that hang in the balance. Nonetheless, while we are trying to tally up the toll that this pandemic has taken on so many fronts, we should not exclude or minimize the spiritual casualty, and I would argue it is a specifically Catholic casualty. To deprive Catholics of “the source and summit of the Christian life,” in my opinion, outweighs all the other factors combined. When you place everything on the scales of eternity, nothing outweighs the Eucharist, because it is Jesus himself.

Today’s gospel from Luke 24, concludes with the dramatic discovery of Jesus by the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. You remember the story, but do you remember where they finally found Jesus? We read in Luke 24:35 (a truly profound passage), “Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” That encounter between Christ and two early Christians occurred on the first Easter Sunday, and arguably was the first Mass ever celebrated after the Resurrection. The phrase “breaking of the bread” was Christian code language used throughout the New Testament to denote the celebration of the Eucharist. If there had been a pandemic going on in the first century, those two disciples might still be looking for Jesus, because they would not be able to gather for the “breaking of the bread.”

Every Catholic should feel today like those two disciples felt two thousand years ago on the road to Emmaus: with our “hearts on fire.” Why? Because we can only discover Jesus in “the breaking of the bread,” in the “source and summit of the Christian life,” where “God feeds Israel forever.” Don’t forget to include that in the diary you keep during this pandemic, right after you mention your day pajamas.

Praised be Jesus Christ!