"May this COVID-19 crisis be indeed be a time of our choosing—to be Church, to be Christ today."
"May this COVID-19 crisis be indeed be a time of our choosing—to be Church, to be Christ today."
The sight of Pope Francis walking alone to an empty St. Peter’s Square is one of the most powerful images to ever come out of this COVID-19 pandemic. The emptiness of the square where tens of thousands used to congregate for the weekly papal audiences and occasional liturgies mirrors the empty churches around the world. One cannot be but moved to prayer as if the entire humanity had fallen to its knees to plead for an end to this crisis.
Undeniably, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has changed our everyday lives in many ways. At a time when we are physically distanced from one another, never has the family ever been so united in prayer, hope and action. Our churches may be closed, but parents and their children have once more discovered the value of prayer in the home. Our houses may provide safety and comfort, but many of our doctors, nurses and all those on the frontlines have left their own homes and selflessly risked their own health to ensure that every COVID-19 patient receives the needed medical care. Our businesses may be struggling, but our generosity to reach out to the least in our society, and the most vulnerable to this crisis has not by any measure wavered.
The rhetorical question, “Where is the Church?” has been raised many times throughout these weeks of community quarantine. Truthfully, the Church is not one to bring attention or receive affirmation for its works of charity, because crisis or no crisis, the Church has always been there in the fields of healthcare, education and social outreach.
More so in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, as parishes cancel public liturgies, more of its efforts have been diverted to its social action initiatives. Our churches and schools have been opened to provide free accommodation not only to street dwellers and the homeless, but even to those working on the frontlines. Many parishes have taken the initiative to take care of the poorest of the poor in their own communities, providing food packs, mostly contributed by the faithful themselves. In fact, Caritas Manila, the social service arm of the Archdiocese of Manila, has taken the lead of effectively and efficiently extending assistance amounting to more than a billion worth of gift certificates which has been distributed to more than a million families within Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
But this question begets another question, “Who is the Church?” Is the Church we seek that of the hierarchy and the clergy? Is the Church we are looking for the institution that has been long criticized, at times unfairly, whenever it speaks for truth and justice? When we ask, “Where is the Church?”, are we asking for its funds and resources and why the supposedly billions in stocks and other investments have not been divested and spent to provide for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
If we find ourselves asking these questions, then we have missed the truth of what it means to be Church. If we equate the Church to the bishops, priests and religious alone, then we have failed to understand our own vocation as baptized Christians. If we define the Church’s role in terms of temporal power and secular influence, then we have forgotten our mission to live out the Beatitudes—to be poor in spirit, to be merciful, to be pure of heart, and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. If we expect that the Church’s treasures are but the billions in real estate, stocks and investments in its portfolio, then we miss to appreciate an even greater treasure in the selfless service that many Catholics in various callings have so generously shared with the community.
Where is the Church? Our experience today teaches us that the Church is not to be found in those grandiose buildings made of stone. It is to be found in the homes, in the families, who in this time of trial remain fortified by faith. The Church is in its parishes, schools and hospitals who despite the odds continue to serve beyond the call of the duty. The Church is to be found in the generosity of its faithful, who even in a time of their own need, are able and willing to share their blessings to those who need it even more.
We are the Church, and the Church we seek is to be found in our hearts. Crisis or no crisis, we are called to witness to this faith, whose greatest commandment is to love God and others. Prior to the extraordinary Orbi et Urbi blessing to pray for an end to the COVID-19 crisis, Pope Francis called on Christians to “seize this time of trial as a time of choosing, a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.” That confronted by the fragility of our own existence, in the face of our fear and worry, Jesus is calling us to rediscover our faith. That begins “when we realize we are in need of salvation” and are not self-sufficient on our own.
There is an apocryphal account of the apostle Peter fleeing from Rome to escape the impending persecution by the Romans. Along the Via Appia, he meets the risen Jesus walking towards the city. Peter asks him, “Quo vadis?” “Where are you going?” To which Christ replied, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” Realizing then the folly of his ways, Peter gains the courage to continue his ministry and returns to Rome, where he was martyred by being crucified upside down.
In this time of pandemic, it is difficult not to be worried and concerned about what the aftermath of this crisis will bring. It is easy to be trapped within our own selfish concerns, finding for a way out, an escape from the challenges of our times. But Christ meets us along the way, and in our wanting a way out, he finds a way to come into our lives, into our pains and doubts, and there he asks us that as Christians we are called to be Church—to be his presence in the world, especially in the most trying times.