Tend Your Domestic Church

March 22, 4th Sunday in Lent - Year A http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041920.cfm

Well, what an odd Divine Mercy Sunday we are having this year!  The church has been turned upside down and a lot of us really need that mercy more than ever now!  We need Jesus’ Divine Mercy on all the churches across the entire world to get back to a bit of a sense of normalcy when it comes to our faith.  In our first reading, we can also see their faith was changing too.

In the first reading from Acts, the first followers along with the Apostles were also leading a sort of hybrid Christian faith.  They would gather in homes for the breaking of the bread but also go to the temple to meet. They participated in both the temple worship and the Eucharist in the earliest stages. They weren’t thinking of dividing Christianity and Judaism at this time.  

We are all currently living in a sort of hybrid Catholicism right now as well.  Our obligation to attend church has been dispensed and churches have been closed during this outbreak for the safety of the parishioners.  Instead, we “gather” with our families in our homes to virtually break bread and receive a “spiritual communion” each Sunday.  [There is a spiritual communion prayer at the bottom of this.] We watch masses on either Facebook live, YouTube, TV, or some other form of media. Even though this can be difficult, we must remain strong.  Even though we aren’t present together physically, we are present together in spirit.  We are still one Church it’s just that our “domestic church” has taken precedence over our local Churches for the time being. 

Make your domestic church as strong as it can be!  Let’s not become like poor Thomas, who in today’s gospel forever earns the nickname “Doubting Thomas”.  I’ve always felt bad for “Doubting” Thomas.  Peter was never known as “Denying” Peter for his three times denial of Jesus but Thomas doubts once and BOOM, labeled forever!  Please, don’t look down on Thomas because of this, how many of us have doubted in the past?  How many of us face doubt now?  Have we recently not trusted Jesus and relied more on ourselves?  I know I certainly have!  In these odd times do we doubt or do we trust?  We see in today’s gospel that Jesus is there in that locked room, He just shows up.  He is there, present in all of our houses, all of our domestic church buildings, we just have to recognize this, take the reins of our domestic churches.  How?  Continue with the Religious Education classes that they had to leave, pray together as a family, break out the rosary if you don’t do this already, and really recognize that Christ is present in our midst always.

Why?  Good question, why would we continue on in our domestic churches at this point?  The second reading gives us a solid answer!

Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of [your] faith, the salvation of your souls.

That’s it, stay strong, continue the church in your own home, and work toward the salvation of your souls, work towards that heavenly goal.

In my domestic church, I have recently noticed one of my “parishioners”, my daughter Faith, who is only 14 and doesn’t fully comprehend what is going on has kept the faith (no pun intended).  She continually accentuates the positives of this situation.  To her she sees only benefits:

She doesn’t have to get up and get ready for the bus that used to come at 6:10 am five days a week.

• She gets to go to bed at 9 pm instead of 10 pm.
• She got a new and bigger Chromebook out of the deal to do her school work on.
• Dad is working from home all week now.
• She gets to “work” (aka school)  with mom and dad all day now.  Faith, who is deaf, always signs “the three of us are working, we are the same”.
• She gets to have “gym class” with dad after he gets out of work.  Dad, however, is old and gym class is no longer his favorite subject
• She stays in her pajamas a LOT!
• She gets to “participate” in an A.S.L. Mass through the Boston Deaf Apostolate with Fr. Shawn on Sunday morning.

She sees the good in all of this right now and trusts God because she has faith like a child in all of this.  This “parishioner” is a constant reminder of what Matthew 18:1-5 says:

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

There is a lot going on in our diocese that shows the positive of this situation.  Look to those things.  Look to the story of priests flying over our entire diocese in a plane with the Eucharist to bless us all.  Look to the parishioners who are doing things for their pastors and still supporting their church financially during this time.  Look to your online parishes for weekly and even daily Mass.  Look to your parish to see if they do Facebook live adoration.  Ours at Holy Family in East Taunton is every Tuesday night, 8-9 p.m. on our Facebook page.  Reposition is at 8 and then we pray the rosary together from 8:30 to 9 and conclude with a virtual benediction.  Pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you as you take the helm of your domestic church.

My prayer for all is that we all keep our domestic church focusing on the positive, still “attending” our churches virtually and filled with faith like a child as Saint Edith Stein said:

“Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands, and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.” 

Act of Spiritual Communion, St. Alphonsus de Liguori:

My Jesus, I believe that You

are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. 

I love You above all things, 

and I desire to receive You into my soul. 

Since I cannot at this moment

receive You sacramental, 

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there 

and unite myself wholly to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.