The Catholic Weekly 5 April 2020

28 NEWS 5, April, 2020 Always with us D id you know that you can receive Communion in a “virtual” form even when you are unable to at- tend Mass? Masses are can- celled because of the COV- ID-19 pandemic, but we still need to receive Christ into our body to be enriched with his love and mercy for our ongo- ing conversion. Several years ago, during Lent, I was in Brussels pray- ing as I walked along the cob- blestone streets. I was feeling particularly down about my- self and my ability to stay fo- cused on the joy and blessing of God’s providence inmy life. I neededMass andHoly Com- munion, and I knew it. There was a church right in front of me, and they were having Mass in an hour. Then I got a text reminding me that I was to give a lecture at the exact same time. I was crestfallen and desperately craving the Eucharist. What to do? We are now living in the incipient stages of the COV- ID-19 pandemic of 2020. Priests have been document- ed to have Coronavirus infec- tion, and social distancing is the name of the game to pro- tect immunocompromised and elderly men and wom- en from coming into contact with this virus. Since we are all potential human vectors, we must do our part to reduce transmission. In our lifetime, this is the moment to leverage the teachings of the Church: we can receive Christ through Spiritual Communion, every hour and every moment. Who has written on this? St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Avila, Padre Pio, St. John Vi- anney, St. Josemaria Escriva, St. Alphonsus Liguori, and St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas summed up Spiritual Communion as “the ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him.” But how? Sixmonths beforemy Brus- sels trip, I had been assigned by my spiritual director to read Laurence Scupoli’s “The Spiritual Combat,” written in 1589. This mystical classic was the favourite of St. Fran- cis de Sales and was carried by him for 18 years. Scupoli wrote about his own need for spiritual armour after having been falsely accused by others of misdeeds (and later excul- pated). His response to this public shame embodied the Litany of Humility. Scupoli first helps us build our armour against personal demons and wayward think- ing by teaching us three ways tomature in our conversion to God’s service “in” the strength of Christ: (1) Distrust in self, trust perfectly in God. This step is rooted in humility. The depth of our falls is in proportion to our pride. Mary = no pride = no fall. (2) Spiritual Exercises. Our response to any fall must be to spring back from wounded self-love, go to Confession, and begin anew. Silence is our friend here. (3) Prayer. To achieve its full benefits, wemust desire to serve, nurture lively faith and trust in God, pray for His will and not ours to be done, exer- cise self-discipline, thank God for his Mercy, and conclude, “Through your Mercy, grant me this grace - that your Will be done in my life.” Then Scupoli teaches about the master stroke of Christ, al- lowing us to fight with Christ Himself. The Eucharist is our chief weapon. He writes, “This weapon, the most holy Sac- rament, may be taken in two ways, namely, sacramentally and spiritually: in the former, it may be daily; in the latter, every hour and every mo- ment. You must not then ne- glect to receive it very often in the second way.” For both types of Com- munion, I prepare with a simple and sincere approach: “God the Father, I amnot wor- thy to receive Your Son, but you send Him to me anyway. Christ, I am not worthy to re- ceive You, but please come to me anyway. Holy Spirit, I am not worthy to receive the Son, but you bring Him to me an- yway. Mary, my heart is not prepared to receive your Son, so please be in my heart to receive Him with me, to keep me focused on the magnitude of this blessing in my life.” Importantly, Scupoli writes that Spiritual Communion “may even be more advanta- geous to us and acceptable to God than many Sacramental Communions, when the latter are received with imperfect dispositions. As often then as you shall dispose yourself and prepare for Spiritual Com- munion, you will find the Son of God ready to give Himself with His Own Hands to you for your spiritual food.” How do Catholics receive Jesus when the Eucharist is not available to them? Our participation in the Passion of Christ must involve unexpected deprivation. Spiritual communion allows us to respond to the needed decision to cancel Mass in a positive way that is benefi- cial to us individually and to the whole church. Take these times as an opportunity to learn something new in your Faith and to develop an age- old practice that can increase your power to love others and our Lord. If done properly, this experience has the po- tential to make Sacramental Communion, once Masses re- sume, more fruitful than ever. In Belgium, as I ap- proached the stage to give my lecture, I felt immense- ly fulfilled and nourished in saying the prayer I’d learned to receive Christ in Spiritual Communion: “I wish, my Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fer- vour of the Saints.” Dr Wesley Ely is a professor of medicine and critical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville TN, USA, where he directed the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivor- ship (CIBS) Centre. Spiritual communion allows us to respond to the needed decision to cancel Mass in a positive way that is beneficial to us individually and to the whole church.” In brief Bishop of Mongolia dies, 101 THE UNOFFICIAL bish- op of Mongolia from 1983 to 2005 has died at the age of 101. Bishop Giuseppe Ma Zhongmu Tegusbeleg, (pictured above) the only Mongolian bishop ever consecrated, was interred in a forced labour camp from 1958 to 1969 for his refusal to bow to the Communist controlled Patriotic Association. From 1969 to 1979 he worked as a labourer at a water depot. He translat- ed the Roman Missal into the Mongolian language, but it did not receive ap- proval because no one knew in the Vatican could speak or read Mongolian. BishopMa was not rec- ognised by the Chinese state, which considered him to be merely a priest. For the Holy See he was bishop of Ningxia, a vast diocese that overlaps northern China and Inner Mongolia. Bishop Ma retired in 2005 and lived as a parish priest in his hometown parish in Inner Mongolia. He was born in Cheng- chuan on 1 November 1919, tudied theology in Datong (Shanxi) and was ordained a priest on 31 July 1947. After a few years of study at the Fu Ren Catholic University (then in Beijing), he car- ried out priestly ministry. In 1958, after refusing to join the Patriotic Asso- ciation, he was sentenced to forced labour and branded a “counter-revo- lutionary”. Released in 1969, he returned to his home- town, where he worked as a labourer at a water con- servation facility. Rehabilitated in 1979, he returned to his minis- try in 1980. On 8 Novem- ber 1983 he was conse- crated as the unofficial bishop of Ningxia, retir- ing in 2005. Dr Wesley Ely My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already here, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen. Spiritual Communion Prayer EXCLUSIVE NEW