The altar set for the Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection – a private Mass.
A monk of my acquaintance once drily remarked, as he looked
across at the banks of gloomy faces in the choir stalls opposite, that he
sometimes doubted the Resurrection had really happened.
The point is well made. It can be easier in a way, for us
Catholics, to identify with Lent and Passiontide than with Easter. Even if we
haven’t kept our Lenten resolutions as well as we would have liked, we still
relate more readily to the themes of penance and punishment, sacrifice,
suffering, and death, than we do to joy and peace and new life.
And there is good reason for this. Suffering and anguish is
ever present in our world – no one is spared it, to one degree or another, just
as all will certainly undergo the sentence of death. But joy, when it comes,
tends to be more fleeting, rapidly overshadowed by some difficulty. There is a
risk that Easter, for us, becomes little more than a natural consolation, a merely
temporary respite from gloom, when we are allowed to break the fast, put out
flowers, and eat chocolate – with little sense of something life-transforming.
Perhaps this seems all the more the case now of all times,
when the present pandemic continues to overwhelm just about the whole globe;
and does not appear to be ceasing for the commemoration of Our Lord’s
Resurrection. Indeed, we are denied even the consolation of celebrating Easter
by attending the sacred rites.
And yet Our Lord has truly risen – and we must, we must,
allow this glorious truth somehow to penetrate our lives.
There can be little doubt that the coronavirus pandemic is a
divine chastisement. This really ought to be an uncontroversial statement, but
it seems there is no shortage of people, even senior churchmen, to deny it. No
doubt this ultimately springs from a loss of the sense of the supernatural, the
recognition that God is the cause of all things whatsoever; but perhaps in part
it is motivated by a false understanding of God’s love and mercy (“a loving God
would never do that…”). And perhaps even more there is the anxiety that if we
say God is punishing for sin, then we must ask, ‘which sin?’; and then it
amounts to saying that those who die from the virus are the most guilty of that
sin, that they apparently ‘deserved it’.
But that’s not really the case. Firstly, to us Catholics, it should come as no surprise if chastisement is visited upon a whole people collectively, or if the innocent are asked to suffer on behalf of the guilty. After all, both these aspects are precisely the themes of Holy Week. Your clergy have been reciting, in the Divine Office, the prophecies of Jeremiah, warning of the wrath upon Israel, the exile into Babylon, and the destruction of the temple – culminating in his haunting lamentations that are sung in the Office of Tenebrae during the Triduum. And then on Good Friday, we looked at Our Saviour upon the cross, He who was without sin accepting the terrible price for the redemption of sinners.
As to which sin God is chastising us for – well, there will always be the temptation to name our ‘favourite’, whichever of the innumerable manifold vices and perversions of fallen human nature pique our interest. There is more than enough to choose from in the secular society: abortion, euthanasia, same-sex “marriage”, gender ideology, human trafficking… the list goes on and on. Or there is the spread of false religions or militant atheistic ideologies. And then within the Church we can make another catalogue: clerical sexual abuse, rampant heresy, disobedience, and schism, disregard of Sundays and holy days, liturgical abuses, widespread impurity, indifference and faithlessness, sacrilegious Communions, badly made confessions (if made at all), and so on. It seems foolish to try and identify just one that is the cause of all our ills. But all of these things eventually boil down to one – the rejection of and failure to worship the One True God. And for this, our collective punishment is long overdue.
And in reality, all of these faults put together pale into insignificance
next to but a single act of sacrilege or idolatry. We do not tend to feel it is
so – but God’s view is not our view. God tends to punish precisely by
abandoning the people to what they have craved. So in a world that elevates
individualism over communal responsibility, perhaps it is fitting that there
should be enforced ‘social distancing’; and if,
as I suggest, everything is ultimately about our failure to give God
right worship, then we should not be surprised if we Catholics have to bear our
brunt of the chastisement in our very particular way – the cessation of public
Masses (and even, in some places – horribile dictu – of all the sacraments).
In fact, in a sense, this is the worst of the curses. To say
this may seem to be incredibly cold and indifferent given the very real pain,
suffering, and loss that many are going through at this time because of the
virus, not to mention the horrific economic fallout. I do not mean in any way
to diminish this. But we should recognise that man’s purpose and fulfilment lies
precisely in the worship of God. We are more than the body only, and there is
more than this life only.
This is felt all the more keenly precisely by those who are
the most devout, who we would think least ‘deserve’ it, since they want to
offer God fitting worship and are struck by its loss the most acutely. But it
was ever thus. The prophets warned Jerusalem of what was coming and wept for
it, while the hierarchy repeated complacent, empty mantras: “peace, peace, but there
is no peace” (Jer. 6:14; cf Ez. 13:10), or “we have the temple” – then even
this consolation was taken away from them (Jer. 7:4).
Israel had gone after false gods; and then the True God withdrew from them.
Probably this Easter many will feel much like Psalm 136: “by
the waters of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we remembered Sion…how shall
we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?”
And yet, the Babylonian exile was not forever. Israel was
restored – at least in part – and the temple was rebuilt. And all this was for
a sign of the death and Resurrection of Our Blessed Lord. Ecce, omnia nova
facio (Rev. 21:5). Death is not the final word; Christ has claimed victory,
and it is decisive.
Thus there can be joy, even in the midst of distress and
bewilderment. It is not a transient sentiment, but a deep conviction that stems
from faith of the love that God has for us, a love proved dramatically on
Calvary. This joy does not simply happen on its own: it can and must be
cultivated, through acts of faith and above all charity.
This present moment too shall pass. But will our lessons have been learned? Divine chastisement is never a matter of an angry God fulfilling a lust for vengeance. It is a correction; and as a correction, it is a loving act of mercy, a means by which God draws us back to Him. For our part, we should not be longing for things to ‘return to normal’, but rather seeing where we need a true conversion of heart.
Is this not the message of St Paul? “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer” (Rom. 6:5-6); and: “Therefore if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead: and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory” (Col.3:1-3).
May we never again take the Holy Mass for granted! May we come to treasure anew the beautiful gift of the Sacraments. Let us prepare well to make good, humble confessions, and approach the Holy Eucharist with awe. Let us resolve above all to pray always, with thanks in our hearts, and to take every opportunity to give to Almighty God the adoration that is owed to Him.
And if we do this, the mystery of Easter will have truly
penetrated our lives, and the joy of the Risen Christ will be in us – and no
one can take this away.
May God bless you, and Our Lady keep you.
Regina Coeli, laetare, Alleluia! Our Lady’s statue in St William of York newly restored and gilded by a talented parishioner.
To download the full liturgical texts for Tenebrae, three booklets are available by clicking on the link right under each image below.
Please note, all these prayers, without the chant notation, are also available in the Baronius Hand Missal [for sale at St Mary’s Shrine] on pages 1778, 1811 & 1842 for the respective days of the Triduum.
Follow the choral singing of Tenebrae from St Mary’s Warrington via LiveMass.net on 9th, 10th and 11th April 2020, from 10am to 12noon.
Our FSSP Warrington weekly Men’s Group will meet via LiveMass this evening, Wednesday 8th April, at 8:00pm (Warrington UK time), for a Lenten meditation by Fr de Malleray, FSSP on ‘The Cross and the Mass’ followed by choral singing of Compline. 😇 https://www.livemass.net/
Our LiveMass equipment has been working satisfactorily daily for years, but your prayer will help! Our apologies to any viewers for the loss of sound for the first part of holy Mass on Palm Sunday; we were having technical issues following a loss of power earlier in the week which meant that we had to restart the equipment during holy Mass. Some of our local people were communicating live on WhatsApp and, finding that all of them had lost the sound simultaneously, decided to pray the Prayer to St Michael, soon to hear the sound was back… We blessed the LiveMass control room and the three cameras after Vespers yesterday (picture).
Support St Mary’s Shrine as a broadcast site via bank transfer:
For FSSP Warrington Bank Name: Lloyds Bank Sort Code: 30-80-27 Account number: 30993368 Account name: FSSP Warrington
For international transfers, you may also need:
Bank Branch: Palmerston Rd Southsea Bank Address: Ariel House, 2138 Coventry Road, Sheldon, B26 3JW IBAN: GB97LOYD30802730993368 SWIFT code: LOYDGB21721
More feedback from First Passion Sunday:
29 March 2020, USA
Thank you for broadcasting the traditional Latin Mass
from Warrington, England. When you mentioned a musical rosary in the
announcements today, you piqued my interest. Not only did I watch the Mass but
followed along for the rosary. The organ accompaniment and chant were
beautiful!
29 March 2020
Blessed Passion Sunday, I am a lifelong Catholic senior watching your mass online everyday from USA! I love your church and wish I could visit in person sometime. The Tridentine mass is as important to me as it was to St. Pio. With much gratitude to you all+++ Can you tell me how it would be best to donate to your FSSP church in Warrington? I am not sure what method is best.
Thank you
29 March 2020
Deo Gratias! I am writing from Canada during
the corona virus pandemic. I thank God for leading me to your church so that I
can join in the celebration of the Eucharist! I have wept during the
celebration and will always remember your beautiful church and priests in my
prayers.
29 March 2020
Dear Dear Fathers,
Sincere thanks to you from the United States for your
beautiful celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and for your profound
and stirring homilies. I can’t wait to
get up in the morning to hear Mass online!
Dear Parishioners, I hope that you are all keeping well and positive in these tumultuous times through which we are living. Here are a few notes to update you as to the new status quo in St John Fisher Parish and our chaplaincy at Chesham Bois and Bedford.
Mass: While public Masses have ceased and church buildings closed, be comforted by the fact that each of your priests continue daily to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – the principle way that we mediate on your behalf with almighty God…
Tell your friends and colleagues. This is a great opportunity to make the beauty and depth of the traditional Latin Mass better known, especially by people who might not visit these churches in ordinary circumstances.
In this times of pandemic, St Mary’s Warrington is one of the very few places where five clerics are able to perform a traditional Missa Cantata behind closed doors (since we live as one household in the same presbytery; pray that we don’t fall ill, or it will have to be a Low Mass every day!).
Messages of thank are sent to our priests from various countries for our LiveMass.net apostolate allowing thousands to attend the Holy Sacrifice from a distance.
Examples: “Dear Fathers, thank you for the Live Mass today [Sunday 22 March] on Internet! I was able to follow the Mass in Warrington from W. this morning. Good to know you’ve been prepared with this website for a few years. Also happy to see you both, even in such circumstances.”
“Dear Fathers, I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful initiative in live streaming the Holy Mass. These are difficult times for us all and as your said in your sermon, we should be not satisfied with attending the Mass in this way. However, you are providing great comfort for many families globally in doing so. And what a beautiful church! God Bless, A., M. and …family.”
“Dear Fr …, A quick message to thank you for the amazing LiveMass transmissions. I followed for St Joseph, St Benedict and now Laetare – quite surreal (and sad) to see you sprinkling row upon row of empty pews! I must say the quality is superb and it is a wonderful resource to have in these extraordinary times (I’ve sent a small donation to LiveMass.net). God bless, J.”
Practical reminders: On every location, you can watch the ‘Mass of the Day’ for 24hrs and the ‘Mass of the Sunday’ for 7 days. Just click on the relevant link under the name of location. Again, you do not need to watch live always, but on demand when you like.
If streaming is slow, click on the ‘HD’ icon on the bottom righ corner of the screen and select a lower definition.
