Open new doors to prayer

Both Sacred Heart Catholic Church and La Conner Methodist Church have signs on their doors reading “Church Closed.” Most of us recognize that is a sensible decision: large gatherings are just what we do not want at the moment. The loving thing right now is to keep our distance, lest we transmit the virus. So if we cannot gather because of the coronavirus, can we still offer Eucharist – thanking God as a gathered community?

First, God is everywhere and the risen Christ is not limited by space. The presence of the risen Jesus among the community is captured in in Matthew’s gospel: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (18:20). Even the smallest gathering – just two people standing six feet apart has the risen Lord among them; it might be two people in a house together; it might even be two people talking together on their mobile phones.

Second, your room is a basic place of prayer. It is sobering to recall this instruction by Jesus: “Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:5-6). It’s a moment for us to rediscover the art of closing the door and praying alone – knowing that the Father will listen to our prayers.

And finally, every table is a sacred place. Jesus encountered people and taught at their tables: every table is a place where we can encounter the Lord in those with us. We will not be eating together as sisters and brothers in a church for the next few weeks, so let’s start recalling that whenever we eat, we should be thankful. We should always be thankful for the food we eat (grace before meals) and for the pleasure of eating and being together (grace after meals).

Simply acknowledge that this is a weird time: we cannot meet up, we cannot shake hands and we are temporarily – for very good reasons – unable to behave in the normal human way. So we cannot behave in a liturgically normal way, gathered as a people, as sisters and brothers, to be together, to sing together, to listen together, to share peace with our neighbors as friends (John 15:15) and then to share bread and wine.

Until we can get back to normal, let’s just note its loss, concentrate on what we can do while we are living in isolation from one another, and then, when the restrictions are lifted, rejoice that our fellowship is restored. Let’s use this experience to rediscover that we are the church, that we must be eucharistic every day (an attitude of thankfulness for all the good things of creation), and that the risen one is with us in these worrying times.

Father Paul Magnano

Skagit Valley Catholic Churches