COVID-19: NOT ONLY DARKNESS, BUT CONCRETE RAYS OF LOVE AND HOPE
I am an assistant parish priest assigned in a town in Aklan. At the start of the pandemic, with my parish priest, we thought of implementing the one meter distance at Mass. But since it was just the initial announcement made by the government, we thought of continuing the liturgical celebrations so as not to deprive people of the Sunday Mass. If we follow the directive set for any mass assembly, we were sure that it would affect the number of people who could be inside the Church.
Considering the safety and health of all, also due to the volume of our Sunday Church goers, together with the Parish priest we thought that it would be better to double the schedule of our masses, in this way many will still be able to attend the Mass and at the same time we can observe the one-meter distance. With much concern we implemented this plan, but to our surprise, the parishioners heeded the call of the civil authorities not to go to any gatherings, which includes of course the masses.
As priests of the Catholic Church, we are always encouraged to celebrate daily masses even if there will be no faithful. So, in the parish the parish priest celebrates the Mass and I would go and have mine with my elderly mother staying in my home in a nearby town. But on Sundays, we still decided to celebrate two masses in the parish, for each one. Since a handful parishioners came in these two Sunday masses, the one meter distance protocol, obviously and spontaneously, was observed.
In this time, with my parish priest we try to be more sensitive to each other’s needs and welfare. Before the following Sunday came, all the senior citizens were strongly advised to stay at home. Since I am senior citizen, and moving around would be difficult for me, this is due also to the check-points in many places, my parish priest assured me that he will just take care of my scheduled Mass so I could celebrate the Sunday Mass in our town in a room with my mother.
I was very edified by his offer even though as a priest, I could ask the check point to allow me to pass, since in a sense, we, priests are also front liners. Aside from celebrating Masses in the Parish, we also saw countless opportunities to live our pastoral duties by reaching out to those who are in need among our parishioners. So, as I continue to be near and at the service of my elderly mother, my parish priest disposed himself to visiting, for the whole week, compassionately all the sick calls exposing himself to the possibility of getting infected with the virus.
Since I am staying with my elderly mother at home now, I tried to be always available to her and make sure that she is given the attention that she needed every day. For some time now, a lady comes to offer some care for my mother including some cleaning in the house. This lady lives in a nearby barrio and usually her husband would come to bring and fetch her on a motorcycle.
After the lockdown was declared, nobody was allowed to have a back ride. This situation will make it difficult for her to come to my house and would certainly cut the small amount of money she gets from us, thus will make it difficult to sustain their financial needs. I understood that in this time of crisis, love for the neighbor can also be expressed creatively. Having this at heart, I thought of approaching my grandson who has a bicycle, but found out that its tires were not working.
Pushed by the desire to be of help to the lady, I approached my grandson if he was open with the idea of fixing the bicycle and have it used by the lady. Perhaps having seen the concern I had for the lady, without hesitation, he gave his permission and I willingly fixed it so that lady could continue to come work at our home. Now she comes daily with the bicycle and is able to move around and be home easily to be with her four-month old baby whom she entrusted to her mother during the day.
