We are in a true crisis! Not a crisis of warfare between countries or even that civilization is on the verge of collapse. We are in a crisis of faith, physical health, moral activity and economic reality.

There is a crisis of faith. Who would have imagined, just a few short weeks ago, that there would be no public Masses offered for the strengthening of our people and for the consolation of those affected by the coronavirus. Yet, that is the sad reality of the time that we are living in. There is precedent, in our county’s history, for this type of action. During the time of the “Spanish” Flu (1918) many Churches stopped celebrating Mass in order to stem the tide during that pandemic. When “Yellow” Fever raged in the South, Masses were cancelled and Churches closed. Sometimes, we forget to look at situations through the lens of history. However, we are living in the present, not in the past, and we have to face what we are going though in our own situation. I guess the most common question is: “Why is God allowing this to happen?” When faced with this question we have two choices: either to run towards God, or to deny God. The choice we pick, the one that we set our sights on tells a lot about who we are, and the measure of our faith. When we run towards God it means that we have placed our trust in Him, that He will get us through it (even though we might not know how He will do it) and that even in the midst of this terror (and it is terrifying) God will give us the strength to carry on. We know that God is with us, walking with us, pushing us and yes, even carrying us when we need Him to do that. When we deny God it means that we are saying that we are in charge of our own destiny, everything depends upon us and our own ingenuity, and basically we are alone, walking in darkness, no light at the end of the tunnel.

As Roman Catholics, the Sacraments are our foundational stones on which, we as a Church, depend for strength, solace, joy and consolation. When the Sacraments are impeded by anything we have a sense of sadness, and even sometimes, of anger. Yet, we can forget the God has given us the capacity to talk to Him. It is called prayer.

Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 14: “Ask anything in my name and I will do it.” Now this does not mean that He will hop to our commands or demands. It does mean that He will listen to us and do as He wills. What is His will? Pray the “Our Father” and you discover it.

Don’t give up! Don’t turn away from God. Run towards Him! Trust in Him! Allow the Faith, the most precious gift we have besides life, to give you hope. Allow the Faith to sustain you, strengthen you, guide you and protect you.

We are in a crisis of physical heath and moral activity. When we see the stories of people suffering from the coronavirus and the possible lack of adequate medical care (even though we thank all those dedicated medical professionals for their heroic work in this time of crisis) we recognize that there are people who are acting totally irresponsibly. When we are asked to do something by the competent medical or civil authorities, we must do it. Some people think they are invincible (they are not, rather they are delusional) and by disobeying what is asked for, they place their lives and the lives of countless others in jeopardy. You might not care about your own life, but, do you care about the lives of those you love? Even people who go to the store and buy out all the toilet people (or any other products) are acting selfishly and irresponsibly. Come on, stand up and be a human being, Remember the story of when Cain kills Abel? God talks to Cain and asks him where is his brother. Cain responds in Genesis chapter 4, verse 9: “Am I my brothers keeper?” The answer of course is: “Yes”. As Roman Catholics we are responsible for one another. Don’t mess this up. If at the end, when you meet God, do you really think that 400 rolls of toilet paper, or 100 rolls of paper towel, or 27 dozen eggs, or something else is going to save you?

We are in a crisis of economic reality. All are hurting. The stock market has tanked, our 401K plans are possibly a disaster, people have lost their job or been laid off. Where do we turn to in times of crisis? We have to be there for one another. Don’t despair! A wise old woman I know once said to me: “We are in it for the long haul.” There is light at the end of the tunnel.