Holy Week Services led by Pope Francis at Saint Peter Basilica will be held without the physical presence of the faithful this year due to the coronavirus epidemic.
On its website, the institution that handles distribution of tickets to Papal events at the Basilica states:
“The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household announces that, because of the current global public health emergency, all the Liturgical Celebrations of Holy Week will take place without the physical presence of the faithful. Furthermore, this Prefecture informs that until April 12 the General Audiences and the Angelus presided over by the Holy Father will be available only in live streaming on the official Vatican News website.”
Many are dismayed that churches are closing and that no public Masses are being celebrated in many dioceses throughout the world.
A quick online search however reveals that during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic churches remained closed to avoid large gatherings.
God gives us faith, but he also gives us reason. We cannot trust in a blind fideism or providentialism that we can gather and nobody will get sick. If God desired it, He could will that, but we should not test him with the knowledge we have about the virus. We have to act reasonably, and as in 1918, it may be better to stay at home. Today, we have the advantage of television and livestream to participate in Mass that way. Thank God for that!
Picture is mine, all rights reserved, 2010.
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