A letter to CUSANs

Rev. Jerry Bracken, C.P. CUSA National Chaplain

Dear CUSANs,

Several years ago, I came to know the meaning of the word “Advent.” I was saying the “Our Father” in Latin: “Pater noster, qui es in coelis; sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum….” That’s it. Advent is from adveniat; it is about the coming of God’s kingdom. There are three. The Son of God becoming man. Christ coming in glory to be our judge. Jesus coming to us now.

The Gospel of Luke for the first Sunday of Advent, in its unique way, told us what to do now to prepare for Christ’s coming.

I say in its unique way, for Jesus is speaking “apocalyptically.” There will be “signs in the sun, the moon and the stars.” Nations will be “in dismay and perplexed by the roaring of the sea.” People dying of “fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,” for the “powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Then, amid such terrible things happening, Jesus says that people will see “the coming of the Son of Man.” Thereupon, Jesus makes these challenges. First: “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” Second: “Do not be a people who in their “drunkenness” ignore such warnings, and do not be filled with “the anxieties of daily life” so that you have no desire to “pray” to “have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

What is so helpful about this Gospel is that it fits our own “apocalyptic” time.

Not too long ago, Healthline reported, “Researchers found that protection against any COVID-19 infection declined for all vaccine types, with overall vaccine protection declining from 87.9 percent in February to 48.1 percent by October 2021.”

Then the Wall Street Journal reported, “The total number of reported deaths linked to the disease topped 770,800…. This puts the pandemic … total at more than twice the 385,343 Covid-19 deaths recorded last year.”

How is one to respond? Few do what Jesus warns against— becoming “drowsy from … drunkenness.” At CVS, people stand on the safe-distance markers!

But what about Jesus’ warning against being so filled with the anxieties of daily life that, instead of praying to God for the strength to do what is right, one does no more than obey commands: “Get the vaccine, keep a social distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, and don’t touch your face.” What about doing spiritual things as well as these physical ones?

One way is to make a good judgment of conscience.

“Faith,” who lives alone and is in her eighties, judges in conscience that she must get the vaccine not only to not jeopardize someone else when going to church but also to not get sick. She lives alone. Who would take care of her?

“Hope,” whose circumstances are that she has read much about the vaccines, found that their testing period, though of thousands, was only for six months after taking the vaccine. Meanwhile, the diseases of myocarditis and pericarditis have shown up in some of the vaccinated, but other diseases could as well. So she judged in conscience and chose not to get the vaccine. The circumstances she necessarily addressed were (1) finding a doctor who would treat her so she would not need

hospitalization, and (2) taking the precautions listed above, like wearing a mask when with others.

Moreover, “Faith” and “Hope,” by making and following their own judgment of conscience, are fulfilling God’s commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

But how is one to “love the Lord your God with all your heart”? The Gospel passage in Luke offers one way, and Gaudium et spes offers another way.

In Luke, the spiritual way of acting is prayer—praying with deep desire for what we need. As St. Ignatius Loyola says, “Act as if everything depended on you; pray as if everything depended on God.”

In Gaudium et spes, we learn that the other way of “loving God with one’s whole heart” is to do what “Faith” and “Hope” did. Do the hard work of making a judgment of conscience as to how to deal with the corona virus—by seeking the counsel of someone wise, and then obey your conscience. “Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths.” (Gaudium et spes, 16)

Do this and you will be acting spiritually. But as CUSANs, you can do more. When you pray with such desire to have the strength to deal with this “apocalyptic” time, pray for others as well. You have had to meet the fear, head on, of your own disability. You know how difficult it is to do this. So pray for others to rely on God’s strength so they too can be redeemed by the coming of Christ into their lives.

My prayers for you this new year.