During
the cholera epidemic in Turin in 1854 in which thousands died, Don Bosco formed his boys into teams to carry the sick to hospital and the
dead to mortuaries. He urged his boys to trust in God, wear masks at all times and wash their
hands in vinegar.
Also, for those upset at the suspension of public Masses: "Bed sheets became so scarce that Don Bosco’s mother, Margaret, stripped the cloths of the altars in church to provide clean sheets for the sick." So, yeah, physical needs can pre-empt spiritual needs, which is why Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, thereby attending to Lazarus' physical needs, but ALSO temporarily suspending Lazarus' entry into the afterlife. Jesus did the same to Tabitha, the little girl He raised from the dead, so that wasn't a one-off occurrence. Physical needs often pre-empt spiritual needs, which is why we can go to the grocery store, but we cannot currently go to Mass.
Damien of Molokai chose to personally enter the leper colony, but he didn't bring others with him, nor did he endanger others. In fact, when he needed to make confession, he was willing to shout out his sins to the priest on board a coastal ship, so that all the shipboard crew could hear, rather than risk infecting others.
Charles Borromeo did, indeed, minister to the sick during an outbreak of bubonic plague in his city. He felt the plague was an example of God's wrath poured out on the city, a wrath that only spiritual humility and abasement would end. Even so, while he led processions of the faithful to receive ashes on their foreheads, he also ordered them to stay at least a stick's length apart while in procession. He erected crosses in the piazzas so that those under quarantine could join in prayer from their windows. Does that sound like social distancing to you? It does to me.
But, the good saint's insistence on gatherings large groups of people together for spiritual ministration were not very effective in "appeasing God's wrath", for Milan lost about one-third of its population, which is about the same as the rest of Europe. That is, his spiritual processions and spiritual humility were not very effective in abating the plague. Don Bosco had a lot better luck appeasing God's wrath with his face masks and vinegar bottles than our friend Borromeo had. That either means Don Bosco was holier or that God's wrath is better appeased by correctly using the tools and the reason that God gave us.
So, yes, imitate the saints. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, don't interact with others if you haven't got PPE.
And if they ran out of vinegar while out helping others, they were on strict orders to come straight back to the oratory, touching no one and interacting with no one.
Moral of the story: Trust in God, but if you run out of vinegar, God isn't going to help you through miraculous means. God gave you vinegar, use what God gave you.
Mind you, this order came from a man who is recorded to have performed miracles during his lifetime.
You and I, we haven't performed any miracles. It is presumptuous for us to assume God will intervene miraculously to save our miserable lives if we choose to act like idiots.
Damien of Molokai chose to personally enter the leper colony, but he didn't bring others with him, nor did he endanger others. In fact, when he needed to make confession, he was willing to shout out his sins to the priest on board a coastal ship, so that all the shipboard crew could hear, rather than risk infecting others.
Charles Borromeo did, indeed, minister to the sick during an outbreak of bubonic plague in his city. He felt the plague was an example of God's wrath poured out on the city, a wrath that only spiritual humility and abasement would end. Even so, while he led processions of the faithful to receive ashes on their foreheads, he also ordered them to stay at least a stick's length apart while in procession. He erected crosses in the piazzas so that those under quarantine could join in prayer from their windows. Does that sound like social distancing to you? It does to me.
But, the good saint's insistence on gatherings large groups of people together for spiritual ministration were not very effective in "appeasing God's wrath", for Milan lost about one-third of its population, which is about the same as the rest of Europe. That is, his spiritual processions and spiritual humility were not very effective in abating the plague. Don Bosco had a lot better luck appeasing God's wrath with his face masks and vinegar bottles than our friend Borromeo had. That either means Don Bosco was holier or that God's wrath is better appeased by correctly using the tools and the reason that God gave us.
So, yes, imitate the saints. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, don't interact with others if you haven't got PPE.
"That either means Don Bosco was holier or that God's wrath is better appeased by correctly using the tools and the reason that God gave us."
ReplyDeleteBetter appeased by reason and prudence than by prayer and devotion to God.
That's the implication of your argument.
Instead, we must have both faith and reason, not reason above or in place of faith.
"'Bed sheets became so scarce that Don Bosco’s mother, Margaret, stripped the cloths of the altars in church to provide clean sheets for the sick.' So, yeah, physical needs can pre-empt spiritual needs, which is why Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, thereby attending to Lazarus' physical needs, but ALSO temporarily suspending Lazarus' entry into the afterlife. Jesus did the same to Tabitha, the little girl He raised from the dead, so that wasn't a one-off occurrence. Physical needs often pre-empt spiritual needs, which is why we can go to the grocery store, but we cannot currently go to Mass."
ReplyDeleteAltar cloths are a meaningful pious custom, but there is no spiritual need to have altar cloths. That's why in dire need they can be used for charitable purposes. But the sacraments are spiritually needed. Let no man dare use the Blessed Sacrament as if it were ordinary food!
Your analogies are utterly inapt. Jesus didn't raise Lazarus and the little girl from the dead to attend to mere physical needs, but to teach that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that in Him all may have eternal life. In the same way, He did not heal the sick merely to give them good health for a little while, but to teach them that in Him alone can they find healing and wholeness for their souls.
(By the way, Jesus referred to the little girl as "talitha," that is, "little maiden." But her name was not Talitha. You've confused her with the widow Tabitha or Dorcas from the Book of Acts.)
To be sure, whatever safeguards may be deemed prudent, bishops and priests are obliged to continue to provide the sacraments of Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, and Unction, taking care to maintain the dignity of the sacraments and the safety of the faithful. It is reprehensible that a great many bishops and priests have declined to hear confessions even out of doors or at a distance, or who refuse to provide last rites or even emergency baptisms, or can't even be bothered to display Our Lord in a monstrance at their rectory window so that passing parishioners may come and safely adore Him.
Is not our life more than health care until we die?