Bishop's Interview: Christ is with us in our isolation and in our struggles

Editor: Bishop, as we continue through this Easter season, we also continue to experience the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us have struggled as we have had to stay at home. What are some ways we can maintain our hope during this time?
Bishop Vásquez: Easter Sunday and the Easter season are the pinnacle of the liturgical year, and unfortunately, this year our celebration of Easter has been challenged by COVID-19. Our churches have been empty for weeks, and most of us have been homebound for quite a while. How do we maintain our faith? We do this by placing all of our hope and aspirations in Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. We must not take our eyes off the Lord.
Remember that beautiful example from Scripture of Jesus walking on the water toward his disciples who are on a boat in the midst of a storm. They are frightened by the storm. Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus does so, and Peter starts walking across the water. As long as he keeps his eyes fixed on the Lord, he is able to do what seems impossible. But when he focuses on the wind, the waves and the storm around him, Peter literally begins to sink.
Finally, he cries out, “Lord, save me.” And Jesus takes him by the arm, pulls him up, and they both go into the boat. Jesus says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
In these uncertain times, it is easy to take our eyes off the Lord and become distracted with other things. However, now, more than ever, we are called to turn toward Jesus, to trust in his goodness and mercy. We need the Easter message of hope and joy probably more now than in any time in our recent history. We need to hear those wonderful encounters with the risen Lord as he appeared to the disciples, how he nurtured their faith, how he calmed their fears.
Jesus triumphed over sin and death. He is risen from the dead. He rose not for himself, but for us. As Christians, we look forward to the day when we will also rise in glory with all the saints and be with our Lord forever.
Editor: For those who are suffering from despair or anxiety or loneliness, how do we trust in the Lord?
Bishop Vásquez: If there is one person to turn to, it is our Blessed Mother Mary. She was there through the passion of our Lord, there at the foot of the cross as he was dying, there to receive Jesus’ body as he was taken from the cross and she helped lay him in the tomb. She understands despair, suffering, pain and hurt.
Mother Mary consoles and comforts us in a special way. She lets us know that we are not alone. And through her prayers, she brings us closer to her son, Jesus Christ.
I have spoken with a few mental health professionals, and they shared some very practical ways that we can defeat despair, anxiety and loneliness. We can limit our exposure to the news – don’t watch it all day. We can make sure we are eating, sleeping and exercising regularly. We should not try to numb emotions with food, alcohol or other distractions. We can reach out to others via phone, social media, email or hand-written letters – talk to them, catch up with them, pray with them.
We can also pray for others and give thanks to God for each of our family members. Every day we can pick a person to hold in prayer throughout the day, asking God to watch over them and bless them abundantly. Finally, we can seek help if we find ourselves too deep in despair. Counselors can offer help via tele-therapy or we can reach out to our parish and ask to talk to a priest or deacon. Though we may not be able to be physically together, there are ways we can get help one another.
Editor: When this interview is published, Mass will have been suspended for nearly two months. Hopefully, we will be able to celebrate public Masses soon. How do we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus once again?
Bishop Vásquez: I know our people are ready to get back to Mass. When I suspended the public celebration of the Mass in March, my heart was so heavy. I tried to keep our churches open and the services available to our people until the last possible moment. The celebration of the Eucharist unites us with Christ and keeps us together as a church. The Mass celebrates the whole act of sacrifice of Jesus Christ, an act of redemption and salvation for the whole world. Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection are celebrated at every Mass, which gives us hope and life.
As the body of Christ, the Mass unites us. Many of our people have expressed to me a deep hunger, appreciation, love and devotion for our Lord in the Eucharist and to be reconnected with the body of Christ, the people of God. I believe this hunger is a blessing because it comes from God. I look forward to the day when we come together with our family and our friends around the altar of God and give thanks for the wonderful gift of holy Eucharist.
As we have been away from Mass, many have filled their longing for Christ with spiritual communion. We know this is not ideal, but this does not mean God’s grace and love are not reaching out and pouring into our hearts even right now in the midst of our suffering, pain, isolation and separation. The Lord is working in our lives. Would we rather be around the altar of God? Of course! Would we rather be celebrating the sacraments? Of course! We are a sacramental people, but that does not mean we give in to despair.
Editor: Hundreds of people in our diocese were planning to enter the church at Easter. When will they be welcomed?
Bishop Vásquez: Welcoming our catechumens this year is going to take some time because we know this virus is not affecting our diocese equally. Some counties and cities may normalize more quickly than others depending on how many are infected by COVID-10. However, I am hopeful that we will soon be celebrating the Easter sacraments in all of our parishes.
We want to be particularly mindful of the elect who have been waiting and yearning to become part of the Catholic Church. We are also mindful of the elect who are waiting to be brought into full communion with the church. We must keep encouraging them, praying for them and supporting them; we know eventually they will be fully united with us. In many ways they are already united with us in a very spiritual way, a very beautiful way.
Editor: Many of our parishes are struggling right now. How can we help them recover?
Bishop Vásquez: Many of our parishes are struggling not only financially, but also socially because the people have not been able to come together for activities and ministries such as religious education, Bible studies, adoration and Mass.
Though our diocese consists of 127 parishes, we are one body of Christ. We are united as a diocese; thus, we are mindful in caring for all parts of the diocese. If a particular parish suffers, we all suffer. As one particular part of the diocese rejoices, all of us rejoice. We need to look at how to strengthen one another and how to support one another during this time. We may need to share resources; we may need to ask for help.
Even as we are not able to attend Mass, we must remember to tithe. Everything we have is a gift from Almighty God. As stewards of those gifts, we are called to return a portion of our time, talent and treasure in gratitude for God’s great bounty. Please continue to give to your parish and when life normalizes once again, offer your time and talents more so than ever before.
Editor: What is your prayer for our nation as we recover from the devastating effects of this pandemic?
Bishop Vásquez: I pray that as a nation our faith in God will be reawakened and renewed. May we look to God as the source of all good things. We are not alone or abandoned. The Risen Christ will lead us through this dark night and terrible storm. I pray we will see the bright light of hope and the newness of life that Christ shares with all of us.
Alleluia, Christ is risen! Let us rejoice and be glad!