Little Sisters retirement home sees 11 COVID-related deaths

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone receiving the gifts during Mass in 2021. / Dennis Callahan/Archdiocese of San Francisco

Washington D.C., Aug 13, 2021 / 13:01 pm (CNA).
The archbishop of San Francisco has warned of the use of social media to prom… […]

Denver, Colo., Apr 10, 2020 / 12:46 pm (CNA).- Isolated in their homes on a Good Friday unlike any other, Catholics across America tuned in April 10 for a litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, led by the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, who himself stood nearly alone in a cathedral built to welcome thousands.

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said Friday that amid the questions raised by Christ’s death, and by the global pandemic, the most important answer is God’s love.

“We stand today at the foot of the cross with Mary, our Blessed Mother, and we look upon her Son, crucified. And we ask God: Why did he have to die? Couldn’t there be some other way?”

“Today we are also asking God: Why this coronavirus? Why have you allowed this disease and death to descend on our world?”

“We know that Jesus on the cross is the only answer,” Gomez said, in a homily he preached both in English and Spanish, while at least 10,000 people tuned in to a livestreamed broadcast of a liturgy of the Word, and a moment of prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.

“In the heart of Christ — wounded by the soldier’s spear, pierced by our sins — we see how much God loves the world. We see how precious we are in our Father’s eyes,” Gomez said.

“Jesus has opened his heart for us. He has given his life out of love for us. Now he calls us to entrust our lives to him — our whole heart, our whole mind; all our feelings and thoughts, our words and actions.”

“In this moment, Jesus is inviting every one of us in the Church to take up our cross and to follow him along the path of humble love, the path of reverence for God and service to our neighbors,” the archbishop added.

After his homily, Gomez led a litany, in which Catholics expressed their faith in the mercy of God. “Jesus, I trust in you,” Archbishop Gomez repeated, “¡Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, en ti confío!”

In Wilmington, Delaware, Colin Stapleton-Bradley, 26, was consoled by the archbishop’s words.

“I thought that the litany helped me deal with the uncertainty of suffering, especially in light of the coronavirus, why it happens, and how we can use our own suffering to, in some small way, relate to Christ’s passion,” he told CNA.

Robert and Jess Nayden watched the archbishop’s litany while their children, ages 3 and 1, ate lunch in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

“I really appreciated that Archbishop Gomez organized this. It was simple and prayerful, and his homily about trusting the Sacred Heart of Jesus spoke to a lot of what I’ve been praying about recently,” Robert told CNA.

“We’ve also struggled to get into live-streamed liturgies these past few weeks, but this was a moment where I felt united in prayer with people across the country,” he added.

Seminarian Ryan Mau of San Jose expressed a similar sentiment. 

“I was very happy to join other American Catholics in this,” he told CNA.

“I haven’t been able to attend Mass since I was sent home from the seminary so to join in on a service like this reminds me how much I miss community and we can still be unified by prayer, even though most of us are not physically able to,” Mau said.

The seminarian mentioned gratitude for the witness of Gomez.

“I felt a sense of leadership and the guidance that really only a father can give me. I felt like he has been a great example especially in this odd time that we are all currently experiencing.”

Of a liturgy that switched between English and Spanish, Mau expressed support. “We need to reach out to all of God’s children and need to be able to speak the languages necessary to do it,” he said.

Bo Bonner of Des Moines, Iowa watched the litany with his five children. He said he had a bit of difficulty with the livestream, and he wasn’t sure what he needed to do to obtain the plenary indulgence attached to the litany. But, he said, “I thought the recitation by the archbishop was good and that is most important, and his words were timely and appreciated.”

While he said he appreciated more the optics of the Urbi et Orbi blessing offered by Pope Francis March 27 than those of LA’s cathedral, “I am very glad we did it as a nation.” 

“I appreciate the opportunity to earn an indulgence during such a singular Good Friday,” he added.

Claire Breux of Washington, DC, also watched online. Family members in Louisiana and Salt Lake City alo tuned in, while they met together in a Zoom meeting to pray as a family, along with the archbishop.

Breux said praying with her family over Zoom has been edifying in a time of difficulty.

“We’ve done night prayer together this way a couple times already.  We all agree it gives the prayers an added richness- we feel closer to each other and more united and encouraged in growing in holiness while we are apart,” she told CNA.

“My whole prayer through this weird time has been for an outpouring of grace for holiness, that we see how much we need God- which of course is easier to miss when life is good- and that [God] has already provided everything we need.”

“Certainly on Good Friday I look at the cross and see that it’s all been accomplished for us,” she added.

In LA, Gomez, too, looked to the cross.

“Let us love one another, joining our sufferings to the heart of Christ, open for us on the cross. Let us sacrifice for one another, take care of one another, forgive one another,” the archbishop said at the conclusion of his homily.

“May our Blessed Mother Mary intercede for us in her sorrows today.”

“May she help us to be meek and humble of heart, and to persevere in this Good Friday of disease and death, to hasten to the Easter morning of the resurrection.”

 

 

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Denver Newsroom, May 6, 2020 / 09:45 pm (CNA).- Catholic families can respond to the coronavirus epidemic through prayer, connection with each other, and care for their spiritual, mental and physical health, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles and several guests said in a Wednesday town hall.

“As we all know we are going through great challenges with the coronavirus pandemic,” the archbishop said. “This is so challenging for all of us, priests and bishops, and to you all the faithful, not to be able to participate in the celebration of the Mass and receive holy communion and also participating in the other sacraments.”

Gomez said it has been very sad for him to celebrate Mass but see the church “totally empty.”

“No matter where we are,” he said, “Jesus Christ is in our lives. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God.”

The town hall, based on the theme “Better Together,” was conducted by phone and livestreamed May 6. Several guest speakers gave practical advice and helped address challenges.

“I see a lot of blessings in what is happening, just by the fact that we are able to communicate more and in different ways,” Gomez said.

The event aimed to discuss various issues, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Catholics and their families, how to pray as a family, how to build community through prayer, and how to face other challenges of the epidemic.

Archbishop Gomez had opened the town hall with a Hail Mary and other prayers for those affected by the coronavirus

“In my own personal experience, there is time to really work on my own prayer life and the way in which I try to serve God and the people of God in the archdiocese,” he said.

The archbishop pointed to important events of prayer, like the Good Friday Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the U.S. bishops’ May 1 consecration of the United States to Mary Mother of the Church

Helen Alvare, a law professor based at George Mason University who advocates for women and families, said the lack of a long commute under the coronavirus restrictions has given her time to pray, to communicate with loved ones, and to share a glass of wine with her husband.

She encouraged parents to ask themselves why they want their children to be practicing Catholics. It should be motivated by “an actual desire to have Christ in your life” and to have a faith that helps explain the world.

Alvare said she takes care to narrate and share what she is doing in her spiritual life with her children and her husband. Catholicism is not “just in the air” anymore and Catholics “have to be explicit” about what they believe and why.

Participants in the town hall could ask questions and answer several poll questions about how they practice the Catholic faith.

One caller asked Alvare about advice for her situation, where four adults in her home with different political views.

“There’s so much information you don’t know what to believe,” the caller from Whittier, Calif. said.

“This should not be political but it has come political,” she said. “We’re all over the place with information. It’s confusing, it’s stressful. We’re arguing over what is real, not real, what is true news, what is not true news. It’s messed up.”

Alvare replied that while one cannot dismiss politics as unimportant without proving further disagreement, you can say something like “there is a lot of misinformation on both sides” and “it would be a shame if politics gets in the way of family.” She suggested acknowledging that there are big questions that a family won’t be able to solve, but families should realize “we were given to one another in some particular way.”

“Our children were given to us. It was not to argue about politics. It was to love and care for one another,” she said. “Don’t let it divide us.”

In her remarks Christina Lamas, executive director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, suggested parents reflect on the question “What kind of faith do you want your children to have 30 years from now?” She also had another question for parents: “Knowing what you know now, thinking 30 years into this future, what would you like to be remembered?”

Lamas’ own mother did everything possible to nurture a religious vocation in Lamas and her sister. While her mother’s desire was not fulfilled, Lamas said, “I give thanks to my mom for that desire. The seed that she planted in my heart allows me to have a strong relationship with Christ right now.”

Holiness is found in the family, a “domestic church,” with parents “the first teachers of the faith,” through their words, their actions and examples, said Lamas

With many families now forced to communicate remotely, Lamas stressed the importance of reaching out to family members, including those who are not necessarily devout. She herself took a risk and encouraged everyone to gather together to pray and to connect. They all responded positively to the idea, and the family now has a Bible study every Sunday even though they live on different coasts.

“It’s a beautiful experience to see each other break open the Scriptures, and to turn to a six-year-old, or a five-year-old, and be catechized by them. They have an entirely different way of looking at things. It moves us to know that this is how we are passing on the faith,” said Lamas.

In addition to Bible study, her family members play games like Simon Says and Bingo over internet video. Technology provides “ways to connect and interact that we haven’t done before,” she said.

Lamas asked parents to ask how their families continue to embrace their faith and welcome Christ into their families. When epidemic restrictions are lifted, they should think how parishes can support this “domestic church.”

According to Lamas, families should “nurture faith in homes so that they can share it outwards, evangelizing so that Christ can be known to others as Christ has been revealed to us.”

Archbishop Gomez addressed a question on reopening churches for Mass.

“We want to do it as soon as possible but our main concern is the protection of our brothers and sisters,” he said, citing the importance of the advice of public health experts. He counseled patience and the need to pray to God to end the threat.

Those who have time should “really take advantage of this moment” and think how they can be “true disciples” faithful to their vocation, the archbishop said. “What is our call? What is our vocation?” he asked.

Another speaker at the town hall was Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist, Catholic ethicist, and professor at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine who specializes in children and families

Half of Americans say in surveys that the coronavirus epidemic is harming their mental health in some way, he reported.

“If you’re dealing with challenges, you’re not alone. What we’re going through is not normal for human beings,” commented Kheriaty.

He encouraged parents to continue “loving your children very much.” Children could be absorbing secondary stress from overhearing the news or phone conversations. Children need help to come to an understanding of events within their own ability. They also need a sense of security and safety.

“Look at this as an opportunity to grow closer as a family,” he said. “the fact that they’re worried or concerned is a good sign, it’s a sign they care.”

He encouraged parents to help children pray for the world, for the sick, and those who died. This will help remind them of God’s providence and of “the loving, caring presence of God in their life.”

Kheriaty warned against destructive patterns he had observed, as when someone stays up until 2 a.m. to binge on Netflix movies and snack, then rolls out of bed at 11 a.m. and stays home, isolated, with no face-to-face conversations, “much less meaningful work.”

There is an “unhealthy recipe” of disruptions in sleep and physical activity, too much screen time, misuse of alcohol or drugs to manage stress, boredom, or the anguish of unemployment or financial strain. These have a long-term risk to physical and mental health.

He recommended reintroducing structure to one’s life, including a daily or weekly schedule. He emphasized the importance of good sleep, mealtimes, work or a hobby of some kind, regular prayer, regular physical activity, maintaining social connections, and work in service to others.

He said a family meal should be a “centerpiece” under the epidemic.

“The most important school that your children will attend is the family dinner table,” Kheriaty said.

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