Isn't the Church an essential service?

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In common, I suspect, with quite a lot of people, these days of seclusion from the world have become an occasion for me to visit social media sites, much more than I have ever done before. Facebook, in particular - which I hardly ever used to looked at - has now become a regular part of my internet browsing. It often provides an easy means of communicating with friends and family, but, in a lot of ways, I suppose it is just about feeling like I am still in touch with the world. It is interesting to get a sense of what other people are thinking, just at the moment.

Whilst perusing, yesterday, I saw a post by my former moral theology professor, Fr. Dylan James, citing an article from First Things, which poses a very serious question: what have we done by allowing Church to become a 'non - essential service'? Another post on Facebook showed a photo of a Church with an empty carpark, next to a Walmart supermarket where the carpark was full.

Among priests at this time, there is an inevitable gnawing thought - when all this is over, will my congregation come back? Or will they all be out of the habit of coming to Church, having learned over this period that Church is not essential?

Teresa of Avila, Ulm, Germany, David Monniaux (photographer)

The answer, of course, is 'yes' and 'no'. Yes, there will inevitably be some who will drop off the edge of the Church community in this time; others, still, who may have to continue self-isolating, long after many have gone back to 'life as normal'. But, on the other hand, no; we will not have lost the majority of our people to indifferentism or 'private religion'. In the communication I have had with the faithful during these last days - both through parish communication and through visiting the hospital - I have been very touched and moved by the extent to which people's longing for their Church has been deepened in this time.

However, we must be under no illusion - the Church community that gathers together again in a few "[w]hoever does not increase decreases. I hold that love, where present, cannot possibly be content with always remaining the same." (St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, The Seventh Dwelling, chapter 4.)
weeks or months time, will be different. Either the Christians who gather together will love God more, or less, for

This places an awesome responsibility on each one of us to ensure that we keep our hearts focussed on growing in love for God, at this time. But, it also creates a challenge for the Church. If Catholics rise to that responsibility, will that not mean that they learn to nourish their faith independently of the organised the Church? Surely, that too would result in them not coming back when all this is over?

Well, that really depends on one thing: whether the People of God have deeply appreciated that love for God = love for the Eucharist. In the end, the reason we gather as a community is a little bit to do with supporting one another, it is partly because God tells us to (cf. Exodus 20.8-11, Hebrews 10.25, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2176), but mostly because it is there that we encounter Jesus - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Eucharist. Our relationship with the Eucharist is the substance of our relationship with God. And this is why Sunday Mass is essential for us.

The fact that we have had to close our Churches has placed Catholics in a situation of spiritual famine. If people do really experience it, as such, the result should, however, be a growth in longing, an increase in desire and a change in relationship and reverence for that spiritual food - both now, and indeed, please God, when that famine is ended. In the end, the measure of the spiritual fruitfulness of this time will be whether the faithful return with a deeper love and reverence for the Body of Christ. Will people come back genuflecting a little more carefully, taking greater care in receiving the Body of Christ, and making a real effort to purify their consciences in Confession, before approaching this august sacrament? Will they pause before resuming reception of Communion, or, will they wander back casually, as if nothing had changed in the meantime?

As a priest, I can but wonder what is going on in the hearts of my parishioners. I can hope, and I can pray; but, in the end it is in their hands, and the power of God. And, on some level, even when the Church resumes her normal practice, I may never really know what went on in their hearts in this time. But, there is one thing I would be able see...

Bishop Stickland of the Diocese of Tyler, U.S.A. put out a challenging tweet recently:

If the end result of this time is to make Catholics start to share the amazing gift of the Eucharist, then, even as a priest, I would have to say that this pause in essential service really had been worth it, after all!

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