Little by little, attending mass is being authorized in different countries. Today, Catholic Digital Missionaries are sharing with our readers about the experience of returning to the Father’s house, which is our home. The new testimony comes to us from the United States.
Last March 17th was the last day that I was able to attend Holy Mass. The following day the Archdiocese of Miami suspended all activities in the busy parishes of South Florida.
Thanks to the Internet
However, thanks to the Internet and all these wonderful platforms, far from paralyzing activities, everyone saw how our priests turned to the networks to offer Holy Mass, retreats, talks, meditations and even virtual gatherings. I had the opportunity to attend retreats, Knights of Columbus meetings, weekday Mass, and even Sundays. The best of the case, from Masses officiated by the Pope, to a parish in a distant town in Spain or in Tucumán with my friend Father Luis.
I am fortunate because everyone in my family is healthy, including me. I did not lose my job since I was able to work from home, take care of my family and incidentally cultivate my interior life through the different means of Christian formation available on the Internet. I was so busy between my work, my family activities, and my activities with Catholic Digital Missionaries that I hardly realized that there was a pandemic and that I had not left my home for days.
Little by little
Little by little everything began to return to the new normal. I started to go to my office and then in mid-May Archbishop Wensky of Miami gave the happy news that as of May 26 the parishes of South Florida would open their doors. We immediately had a meeting at our parish St. Bonaventure to organize the entire return. On May 31, I had the opportunity to attend Church with my family. All the assistants wore masks.
I also had the opportunity to collaborate by organizing the attendees to take their seats and be once again fortunate to have been able to receive the Blessed Sacrament for the first time after two months. For me it was like receiving First Communion, but this time with the consciousness of an adult who understands that he is receiving God himself in the form of bread, Jesus himself.
How fortunate we are to be able to have God with us, to know that we are his children, that he always loves us and that he is always willing to welcome us with open arms even though we have failed him.
A few days before, I was also lucky to be able to see my Spiritual Director after two months and have the happiness to confess. Father Álvarez wore his black mask that matched his cassock and told me how busy he had been (definitely a priest who is not busy is not a priest), how he had been stranded in Texas on a retreat course and how he was able to return to Florida after two and a half months and best of all paying only $ 36 for an air ticket that usually costs 10 times that and on a practically empty plane. He is also a lucky man.
Masses through social networks
I must confess that participating in Masses through social networks for me was like having been physically present in the Church and being able to pray the prayer of spiritual communion with Father Luis or Father Eduardo among others, was like really receiving Christ in body and soul. The feeling of inner peace was as real as when one receives Jesus in the Eucharist and I think it really is.
There are many good things that we can get out of this pandemic that is not over yet, and that has caused a lot of damage to so many people who have lost their jobs and so many who have lost their lives, including human solidarity. But there is something that we must always remember and keep in mind: How fortunate we are to have Jesus with us and to be able to receive him in the Eucharist as many times as we want and even when we cannot receive him sacramentally, we can receive him every time we pray, every time. that we silently converse with Him.
Remember
It is important that we always remember that despite everything going very wrong, there is a good and merciful Father to trust. And that we have our Mother Mary who always guides us.
Let’s not lower our heads in these difficult times, every setback, every bad time, every lack is an opportunity to offer it to God for those who are having a worse time than us. So in good times thank the Lord. In bad times, I offer it to you Lord. In these difficult moments, let us not stop going to Jesus and asking for FAITH, hope and that we know how to live charity with our brothers.
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