Beating a Dead Coronavirus

So, First Things (and a lot of the Catholics who read it) seem to be on a tear about how evil the bishops are for not allowing public participation in Easter celebrations. Again, let us revisit the lives of the saints.

St. Charles Borremeo's beloved Milan was afflicted by the plague. The good saint considered the plague an expression of the wrath of God, so he organized processions (in which all participants were ordered to keep a stick's-length apart, which sounds a lot like social distancing), and he erected crosses in public piazzas so those in quarantine could participate from their windows. Which still sounds like social distancing.

Despite his processions and crosses, Milan suffered the same morbidity from the plague as other areas. His thoughts were pious, but about one-third of Milan still died.

St. Don Bosco, on the other hand, organized his students to help during a cholera epidemic. He didn't consider the cholera plague an expression of the wrath of God, he simply considered it a natural evil, which it was. So, the good saint ordered his young men to wear face masks at all times and wash their hands with vinegar after ministering to cholera victims. If they ran out of vinegar, they were to come STRAIGHT back to the oratory without talking to or in any way interacting with anyone.

That also sounds like social distancing, but with a better understanding of germ theory, and a lot better PPE.

Apparently, St. Bosco was holier than St. Borremeo because Bosco lost none of his boys to cholera. Either that, or God favors the people who understand and respect how to deal with His creation, viruses and bacteria. Perhaps both.

Processions didn't save Milan from the plague.
Vinegar and face masks DID save Bosco's boys from the plague.

Take a lesson from the lives of the saints. 
Engage in social distancing and wash your hands.

Oh! Wait!

That's what the bishops are having us do. It's almost like the Catholic bishops of the world (the Pope included, of course) have more respect for, and understanding of, God's creation than First Things does.