Jesus is the life and hope and salvation of the world; everything we do at Saint Mark’s is meant to witness to this truth. The church is challenged at this moment to learn how to bear meaningful witness, and to carry out her mission, but we are trying, and we believe that Jesus is with us. He is our encouragement, our guide, our health, and, of course, our savior. Everything we do during this time is an expression of this belief.
Since Saturday, 14 March, when we first decided that the public worship of the church would be suspended and the church would be closed, the Blessed Sacrament of the Body of our Lord has been standing in exposition on the High Altar of the church at all times, except during the Mass. The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in this way is a sign of our constant prayer to Jesus to be with us and with everyone in this city and beyond during a time of worry, anxiety, and danger. Simultaneously it is Christ's assurance to us that he hears our prayers and that he is, indeed, with us, and that nothing can separate us from his love. We began something new in the midst of this crisis - this new and constant prayer and witness - that will continue until we are through it.
The Mass has been said daily at Saint Mark’s since 1884. It is part of the witness of our faith in Christ that this offering of our praise and thanksgiving should continue to be made every day, especially in times of crisis. We will continue to say Mass every day, at 10 am, and to livestream the Mass, since we cannot open the doors. Of course, we will be praying for our City, for the world, and for all who are suffering and dying during this pandemic. At every Mass, when we replace the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar, we offer a prayer to that effect.
The Book of Common Prayer (1979), in keeping with the Prayer Book tradition of many centuries includes the following statement of assurance, that we believe applies to the current moment: “If a person desires to receive the Sacrament, but, by reason of extreme sickness or physical disability, is unable to eat and drink the Bread and Wine, the Celebrant is to assure that person that all the benefits of Communion are received, even though the Sacrament is not received with the mouth.”
The clergy and Ministry Residents, and a few others who are present from time to time, continue to say the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer in the church, in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We may soon start live-streaming these prayers as well.
Very soon we will begin to offer daily online content intended to engage our parish community and all those whose hope is in Christ who want to stay connected to a Christian community. The gift of technology allows us to imagine ways we can stay connected, and encourage one another that have been hitherto unexplored by us. We ask you to be patient, and to understand that we are amateurs when it comes to video production, but we expect to get better with practice! Please watch the website and Facebook for more information about this aspect of our ministry.
We are now midway through Lent, and every indication now suggests that we cannot expect to have returned to anything like normal by Holy Week and Easter. We are making plans to livestream Holy Week and Easter liturgies in some modified form that still expresses the mystery, beauty, love, and good news that these liturgies are meant to convey.
These are difficult days, and we expect things may get worse before they get better. Praying is the one thing we can do when there is nothing else to do. And while praying may not make everything better, it will help to strengthen us, it will help us to find peace, it will lead us to some measure of wisdom, and it will allow us to put our confidence in the only One who can be trusted to lead us not only through life, but across the chasm of death to a hope to be found yonder.
Fr. Sean Mullen
16 March 2020