From Quarantine to Communion: The Fourth Sunday in Lent 2020

    From Quarantine to Communion:

The Fourth Sunday in Lent 2020

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March 22, 2020

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

During this time of self-distancing when many churches are closed for Sunday and daily worship, I am aware of the weightiness and responsibility of offering mass for the faithful. Our work as priests are to foster a spiritual communion in a time when we cannot offer the people the sacrament of God. We pray for those people who seek communion, and we pray that we experience communion with one another in a time of uncertainty. Communion is never an experience between you and God alone because by necessity it requires caring for the other person. Masses are always celebrated, not just for those who attend worship, but for the sake of the world.

The story of the man born blind in the Gospel of John has elements that are important to us during this crisis. First, the man is instructed to wash himself in the waters of Siloam while we are instructed to wash our hands repeatedly and to disinfect the surface areas that may carry virus particles. Second, like the Jewish authorities in the story, we are trying to find the cause of the virus. There are even some preachers who will make preposterous claims that God is angry about our sinfulness in particular areas of our moral lives. As Jesus points out in the story, sometimes these things just happen and trying to find causes does not solve the current crisis. Neither the man born blind nor his parents sinned. His condition may have come about through a number of physiological reasons, but it is not connected with any moral failure.

         While the Gospel is about coming to belief through the gift of visual sight, this is our present time to examine how and what we believe about Jesus. The man born blind’s entire world has been flipped upside down after a lifetime of disability and dependence upon others. His life, up until his healing, has been one of social quarantine as he could not work, play, relate to others, prepare his own meals, date, or enjoy the pleasures of life. His had been a lifetime of hardship.

         With the disruption we will face, we will find ourselves like the man born blind who has to reintegrate himself back into society. He had to learn new social customs; we will as well. We will face anxiety if we do not know how long our social exile will be. We will have increased time with ourselves, have to figure out what to do with the time and the silence, and we will recognize the importance of our social connections. We may have more time with the people we love, and we might not know how best to spend it. We are going from major swings in work-life balance from having too little time and rest to having far too much time and rest. We will have to re-establish commerce, find out how to resume to projects that were interrupted, sometimes major ones like job and school applications, and we will slowly come back as a community again, but with new protocols. Throughout this time, our desire to see Jesus will increase. We will have an opportunity to experience what many elderly, shut-ins, and hospitalized people face in their aloneness.

         Let’s examine how Jesus keeps us in communion during this time. Let’s continue to look for him until we see his face plainly. Let’s pray for those who are disconnected from us. Jesus will lead us through this and he will remind us that we have each other as gifts. All we have is the present moment. Jesus stands ready to heal our sight, bring us to greater belief, and to help us cherish the communities of which we are a part.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Isaiah 65) The Lord is about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered; there will always be rejoicing and happiness.

Tuesday: (Ezekiel 47) The angel brought the prophet to the entrance of the temple where life-giving water flowed forth and bringing life to all.

Wednesday: (Isaiah 49) The Lord finds favor with Israel and promises help on the day of salvation. The Lord will help Israel keep the commandments because He cannot forget her beauty.

Thursday: (2 Samuel 7) The Lord said to David: Your house shall endure forever; your throne shall stand firm forever. 

Friday: (Wisdom 2) The wicked said, “Let us beset the just one because he is obnoxious to us. Let us revile him and condemn him to a shameful death.”

Saturday: (Jeremiah 11) Jeremiah knew their plot, but like a trusting lamb led to slaughter, had not realized they were hatching plots against him.  

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 4) Jesus returned to Galilee where he performed his first miracle. Some believed in him. A royal official approached him as his child lay dying, but at the hour Jesus spoke to him, his son recovered.

Tuesday: (John 5) Jesus encountered an ill man lying next to a healing pool, but when the water is stirred up, no one is around to put him in. Jesus heals him and he walks away. The Jews protest that Jesus cured on the Sabbath. The Jews began to persecute Jesus.

Wednesday: (John 5) Jesus explains that he is the unique revealer of God and cannot do anything on his own. He judges as he hears and his judgment is just because he does not seek his own will.

Thursday: (Matthew 1) The birth of Jesus came about through Mary, betrothed to Joseph. In his dream, the angel tells Joseph to take the pregnant Mary as his wife.

Friday: (John 7) Jesus did not wish to travel around Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him, but he went up during the feast of Tabernacles where he was spotted. He cried up in the streets, “You know me and you know where I am from.”

Saturday: (John 7) Some in the crowd said, “This is the prophet.” Some said, “This is the Christ.” A division occurred because of him because they could not settled how he fit into Scripture. Nicodemus interjected, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” The crowd dispersed to their homes.

Saints of the Week

March 23: Toribio of Mogrovejo, bishop (1538-1606) was a Spanish law professor in Salamanca who became the president of the Inquisition in Granada. As a layman, he was made the Archbishop of Lima, Peru and became quickly disturbed at the treatment of the native populations by the European conquerors. He condemned abuses and founded schools to educate the oppressed natives. He built hospitals and churches and opened the first seminary in Latin America.

March 25: The Annunciation of the Lord celebrates the announcement that God chose to unite divinity with humanity at the conception of Jesus. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to inform her of God’s intentions to have her conceive the future Messiah. The boy’s name was to be Jesus – meaning “God saves.” This date falls nine months before Christmas Day.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      March 22, 1585: In Rome, Fr. General received the three Japanese ambassadors with great solemnity in the Society's Church of the Gesu.

·      March 23, 1772: At Rome, Cardinal Marefoschi held a visitation of the Irish College and accused the Jesuits of mismanagement. He removed them from directing that establishment.

·      March 24, 1578: At Lisbon Rudolf Acquaviva and 13 companions embarked for India. Among the companions were Matthew Ricci and Michael Ruggieri.

·      March 25, 1563: The first Sodality of Our Lady, Prima Primaria, was begun in the Roman College by a young Belgian Jesuit named John Leunis (Leonius).

·      March 26, 1553: Ignatius of Loyola's letter on obedience was sent to the Jesuits of Portugal.

·      March 27, 1587: At Messina died Fr. Thomas Evans, an Englishman at 29. He had suffered imprisonment for his defense of the Catholic faith in England.

·      March 28, 1606: At the Guildhall, London, the trial of Fr. Henry Garnet, falsely accused of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.