FROM THE CARDINAL

SPRING 2021

THANKS BE TO GOD, THERE IS INCREASING CONFIDENCE that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is past. Millions are being vaccinated, restrictions are loosening, businesses and public events are reopening, and people have begun returning to Mass in greater numbers each week.

Don’t get me wrong. We still have to be careful. Virus variants have stalled the decrease in new Covid-19 cases in the United States, and if we throw caution to the wind we could risk causing a new oubreak. We don’t want that.

“Be not afraid,” Jesus said. He never said, “Be reckless” or “Don’t worry about putting your neighbor’s life at risk.” But he does call us to be bold in following him – even though letting go of the fear and hurt can sometimes seem impossible.

We have been through a traumatic experience. We were surrounded by much suffering and death for months on end. Frontline medical workers carried the brunt of this burden, but all of us were weighed down by it. Thousands of New Yorkers lost loved ones – and couldn’t visit them or attend a timely funeral. A million New Yorkers lost their jobs. And we all experienced isolation that still just seems to go on and on.

Now it’s time for the healing to begin. A good place to start is “Return of the Faithful.” As the pastors and health professionals in this story attest, your parishes are doing all in their power to ensure you can come back to Mass in person (if you haven’t already done so) in a safe and welcoming environment. We miss you! The Mystical Body of Christ needs its members back. And perhaps most importantly, we can’t heal ourselves in isolation. We all need the community – the Church – and the healing power of the Eucharist.

Also in this issue: a profile of Venerable Pierre Toussaint, born a slave, who, please God, will become New York’s first Black saint. Toussaint survived multiple traumatic events. He witnessed a fierce and bloody revolution in Haiti that separated him forever from family members and drove his French masters to New York. Here, even after attaining his freedom, he endured prejudice as a man of color and as a Catholic, and nearly lost everything in the Great New York Fire of 1836. During a devastating cholera epidemic, he ventured regularly into the quarantine zones to assist the sick. When his sister died, he adopted her daughter, only to lose the girl when she was 14 years old. Consistently, through prayer and devotion to our Lord, he recovered from these shocks to perform countless good works. He was known, among other things, for his consistent cheerfulness.

You’ll also find Dr. Donna Eschenauer, associate professor of pastoral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary, on the meaning of the glorious Paschal season that carries the joy of Easter forward into the year; Fr. Rufus Kenny of St. Joseph’s, Somers, on the origins and benefits of Eucharistic adoration; and a look at the inspiring work of our religious education ministries around the archdiocese to keep our young people engaged and growing in their faith in this challenging time. Let me tell you, it’s not just about Zoom classes!

And finally, in “Joyful Passages,” we’ve asked a few priests, women religious, and music ministers to share with us some favorite readings, prayers, and hymns to guide us toward healing and a deeper appreciation of this joyful season of the Church year.

It may seem hard to reconcile all this joy with the deep spiritual sadness, born of the pandemic, that became a significant part of our lives in the past year. This pain lingers in our hearts, along with fear. But there is no greater balm for this than a return to the community of our parishes and the sharing of Mass with our fellow faithful.

Many New York Catholics have already come back. For the rest of you, I can only say: We miss you, and we can promise you safe places of worship that go above and beyond government guidelines. Yes, we’re wearing masks and maintaining distance, but it turns out that Christian love overcomes all that.

When you are ready, great joy awaits you! Jesus is ready to welcome you with open arms and once again offer Himself to you in the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist.

For the troubled soul, there’s no better medicine than that.