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Pope Francis offered prayers and thanks to men and women who work each day to ensure that hospitals and neighborhoods are clean during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Today, our prayer is for the many people who clean hospitals, streets, who empty the garbage cans, who go around to houses to collect the garbage," the pope said May 17 at the start of his Sunday Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
Some churches celebrate public Mass and hold Communion services for the first time in weeks.
Almost 10 weeks after St. Peter's Basilica was closed to the public in cooperation with Italy's COVID-19 lockdown measures, the faithful and tourists were allowed back in May 18. Pope Francis celebrated Mass at 7 a.m. at the tomb of St. John Paul II to mark the 100th anniversary of the Polish pope's birth. Then, at 8 a.m., the general public was admitted.
St. John Paul II, the longest reigning pope in modern history, was born May 18, 1920, and the national shrine in Washington dedicated to the pontiff will celebrate the centennial of his birth with a series of virtual events May 16-22.
The challenge of writing a column during Coronatide is that one is never quite sure what life will look like two weeks hence. Will we still be “quarantined”? At this writing, we have been safe at home for 50 days. That means that technically we are 10 days past a quarantine. I’m quite certain no one was counting on using the strict definition of the word. What I do know as I write this morning is, no matter what, we will not have returned to “normal” when this column is published.
Captain’s log: Day 53 of the 2020 spring COVID-19 quarantine. Forty-two states still have active stay-at-home orders. The run on cleaning supplies and toilet tissue continues. Schools are teaching through e-learning; youth ministries are conducting their outreach via Zoom, Instagram Live and Facebook Live; and families and friends are keeping up on their relationships by way of various apps. Social media for the win.
Bishop Burbidge issues guidelines for the faithful.
Well, I’m not in Poland.
As you may recall, last winter I told you I was leading a pilgrimage to celebrate St. John Paul II’s 100th birthday in Poland. I was really excited about it. I love him, and I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate his centenary than to visit his homeland, walk in his footsteps and bask in everything about his life.
Keany Produce, a family-owned company based in Maryland with distribution points in Richmond and Landover, Md., partnered with Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria and Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food project to raise almost $100,000 for local food pantries. br />
We say yes to God
In his book, “Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput cites a 2015 New York Times article by philosophy professor Justin McBrayer. His second-grade son had a homework assignment in which he had to decide whether a statement was opinion or fact, for example, “Copying homework assignments is wrong,” “Cursing in school is inappropriate behavior,” and “All men are created equal.”