The Mass vs. the virus

Last Monday this paper headlined the news that the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines was considering the possibility of suspending the celebration of the Holy Mass to help stem the spread of the swine flu virus. To this local church authorities were noncommittal, saying they had not yet received any word about it. At any rate there was nothing final about the plan. But in the event CBCP would come out with such anti-flu directive, it’s a good guess that it would apply only in areas where the A(H1N1) epidemic is raging in a life-threatening stage.

It’s a good guess too that there would be voices of protest especially from among deeply committed Catholics. To these people, the Eucharistic celebration is part of their spiritual sustenance. It’s the life blood of their faith. Most of them may have only the Sunday Mass as their weekly tryst with the Lord. But out of it they get some kind of spiritual uplift that strengthens their resolve to live as Christians should. Outside the church the world awaits with its surfeit of trials and temptations. Into its embrace the average Christian situates himself, and whether he falls or stands depends largely on the amount of spiritual recharging he gets from Sunday Masses. Without these, what would happen to his faith?

More critical is the need for daily Eucharistic encounter with the Lord by daily churchgoers. Mostly ordinary breadwinners, they have learned to source their mental and physical strength from this encounter where in its most sacred moment they actually feel the presence of Jesus in the fullness of his being – body, blood, and divinity. With this experience the Mass has become more than a routinary event to them, and has morphed into something more acutely needed than food or water. Take away this daily communion with the Savior and their day becomes incomplete.

“Lord, to whom shall we go?” Peter answered Jesus when asked whether they too would abandon their master like the other disciples who could not accept Jesus’ teaching.

Once the Holy Mass is stopped for fear of the flu virus, this question will resound in the hearts of these devotees. It will be asked with the agony of thirsting souls, for the Mass is to them like a fountain of healing waters, like an outflowing water of love. To whom shall they go?

To invoke God’s help against the spread of the virus a special prayer is being said after every Mass in the archdiocese of Cebu. It’s a prayer to the Mother of God who is the mother too of all Christians. But more than this prayer is the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist which the church considers the highest form of prayer. To fight a plague with prayer the Mass is therefore the most potent weapon.

But how come it dawned in the minds of CBCP bishops to do away with the Holy Mass as a strategy against the spread of the virus? Is it not possible that their world view has become so immersed in the secular world that they have lost touch with the role of God in the affairs of men? We are not supposed to ask this question because we have a high respect for these godly shepherds of the flock. Yet the very thought, yes, just the thought, of doing away with the Holy Sacrifice is not only intriguing, it is threatening to the Catholic mind.

That mind is conditioned by the Church’s teaching of complete trust and confidence in God insofar as the exigencies of living are concerned. The Gospels are full of exhortations on this, underscoring the truism that every human being is a child of God, the Father, whose goodness and generosity is beyond measure, and therefore what is there to worry for?

The Gospel a few days ago gives an example of such divine care and protection. Here’s a portion of it: “Suddenly a storm came… and the boat began to fill with water and they were in danger. The disciples then went to Jesus to wake him, saying, ‘Master! Master! We are sinking!’ Jesus woke up. He rebuked the wind and the rolling waves; the storm subsided and all was quiet. Then Jesus said to them, “Where is your faith?”

Right now a typhoon called A(H1N1) is threatening this hapless land and its hapless people. It’s not a strong disturbance but many, including bishops, are afraid. Prayers have been said but God seems to be asleep. Master! Master! We are dying! seems to be the cry of every Catholic believer. Surely, God will calm the storm, but as he does he will ask: “Where is your faith?”

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