One of the benefits of being Catholic is that suffering is not without meaning nor is it accidental. The meaning that I derive from suffering helps me persevere, even in the face of the greatest uncertainty.

Moreover, as a Catholic I find peace in the history of the Church, including the history of the Israelites found in the Old Testament.

Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

The worldwide challenges we are experiencing today in the face of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) should not shock the well informed and devout Catholic Christian.

Today’s first mass reading from the prophet Daniel presents a situation that is very similar to ours.

The Israelites are in exile from their homeland and are being persecuted. The first line of the reading (Daniel 3:25) places a person (Azariah) in the middle of an execution being burnt alive.

As Azariah is being burnt alive he pleads for God’s mercy on behalf of his people. In the Old Testament, it is clear the Israelites consistently turn away from God and adopt the ways of the pagan cultures that surround them. One prominent example that stands out is found in 1 Maccabees 1:10-15 when the Jews took on the liturgical practices of their Greek occupiers; going so far as to turn their Jewish places of worship into Greek gymnasiums. You’re only a google search and a few clicks away from discovering what took place in ancient Greek gymnasiums. Let me put it this way: Many “shepherds” whom recently been persecuted for decades of exploitation of young men would have felt right at home.

As Azariah pleads for God’s mercy he lists the consequences for Israel’s sins. They look eerily similar to what the Church has been facing in recent times. Let’s list them:

1. “For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any other nation, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins.” It you look around the world, the church is bleeding faithful Catholics. Recent studies have shown that Catholics leave a rate of 6 to 1, while mass attendance hovers around the 10% mark in the West.
2. In our day we have no ruler, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make an offering before you and to find mercy.” While I will refrain from commenting on Church leadership, at the moment Catholics are facing situation where they are being deprived of the Eucharist, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Let’s be clear, while God’s patience and mercy are infinite, we are finite. We only have so long to respond to His mercy. For us, God’s patience does run out and sometimes He needs to send a massive wakeup call. How we respond to this wakeup call will d