We find ourselves in very strange times. The signs of those times are everywhere, even in the Church.
On Saturday evening, as I read the announcements at the end of Mass, I was caught off guard somewhat by the fact that all of them had been crossed out, with all public events being canceled earlier that day. On Sunday afternoon, after all public Masses were suspended, I went to the church to offer confessions at the usual time for anyone who still showed up. I looked out over the empty pews and was struck at how unsettling a sight that was. At that time of day, our parish is normally such a lively place, with people arriving for the Spanish Mass, and the rosary being prayed. Instead, it was empty and silent.
I have been in the church many, many times when it was empty and silent, but in this case, knowing that it should not have been at that time was unsettling.
And then as I offered Mass on Sunday evening, in private, it was a very strange feeling. I was offering the Mass for the intentions of the whole parish, which the law of the Church mandates is offered every Sunday and holy day. To offer the Mass for the people, but with no people present, carried with it an odd heaviness.
These are strange times, and we may even find them a little bit frightening. But there is no need to fear, and no need to panic. We know that our God is still with us, and that Our Blessed Mother is with us to console us as well.
One of the prayers that the priest may say before Mass to spiritually prepare himself is directed to Our Lady, asking her to stand by him and all the priests throughout the world who offer the Mass that day. I think of how the Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary made present for us, and how His mother stood by the cross on Calvary while He suf-fered. Just the same, she stands by the priests offering that sacrifice, who stand in the person of her beloved Son whenever they go to the altar. And this is a great consolation for everyone. From the cross, “…Jesus saw His mother, and (John, the beloved disciple) standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
We understand this passage as the point at which Mary is given to us to be the Mother of the Church, the Mother of the Faithful, the Mother of all those who are alive in Christ, to reflect her role as the New Eve, who was mother of all the living in the beginning. And at this point, John stands in place of all of us faithful, all of us who desire to be disci-ples of Jesus.
This should be for us right now a great comfort. Though we cannot gather together for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, though God’s faithful people cannot be physically present before the altar, Mary is still our mother, and Mary still stands by the priests offering the sacrifice, as she stood by her Son on the cross. And so we should entrust our prayers to her motherly care in this time where we are physically unable to go to Mass. The Mass continues to be offered, its graces continue to be poured out into the world, and Mary and your priests continue to carry you to the altar of sacrifice in their hearts. And though we are physically separated, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, and it is His loving mother who carries us in her heart to stand by the cross with her.
Father Cory Catron is parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.