I WAS born and baptized and I embraced the Roman Catholic teaching. I went to college in a Jesuit school, Ateneo de Zamboanga. But I am ashamed to call myself a devout Catholic because I seldom attend mass. Devout is defined as “dedicated to religion or sincere.” An example of a devout Catholic is one who has unending faith in God, attends mass every Sunday and follows all the practices.
The holding of the Misa de Gallo, a traditional and devotional nine-day series of masses practiced by the Roman Catholic church, commenced today. I have already written my stand on this in my previous column that if I had it my way, I will cancel Misa de Gallo in the light of Covid-19. I am afraid that the minimum health protocols, especially on physical distancing will not be observed. We will know in the coming days if the Church personnel, the police and force multipliers will be able to control the mass-goers.
Well, since the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) allowed it and gave the discretion to local government units (LGUs), it will be made answerable and responsible if there will be a spike in Covid-19 cases. That is my apprehension, that there will be a resurgence of the virus during this Christmas holidays especially with the holding of Misa de Gallo.
I am just wondering why the task force and our leaders are very selective in the implementation of the policies of Covid-19 protocols. They are very strict in other ways, but relaxed in some aspects, especially when it comes to the observance of religious activities and traditions. The IATF prohibited Christmas caroling, holding Christmas parties, even family reunions and pockets of mass gatherings, but it allowed the Misa de Gallo.
The Misa de Gallo is a major mass gathering even if the Church under the present quarantine status is allowed to accommodate 50 percent of its capacity. Canceling Misa de Gallo is not a matter of abandoning our faith. It is a matter of public health. We can do it in other ways like holding masses through live streaming on social media. We now have the technology to back up this option.
“One need not worry if they cannot go to church to attend the nine-day masses and have to resort to online mass amid Covid-19 pandemic,” said Archbishop of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo, adding that “the Lord will understand their situation especially those who are sick, elderly and children. If we are talking about the blessings, the devotion to the Lord, it is just the same.” You see, it’s a bishop saying that.
And if may I add this verse from the Holy Bible: In Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am in the midst of them.” So God is also present if you attend mass even through online. God is omniscient and omnipresent. So, whenever and in whatever form the mass is held, God is there.
If there will be a spike or second wave of Covid-19 cases, all out efforts and our gains will end up in futility. In Cebu City, it has been observed that Covid-19 cases have been drastically reduced. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reported that 58 out of 81 barangays in the city recorded no cases of Covid-19 in the last 15 days. And Cebu is now the role model of Covid response nationwide. Can we afford to ruin what we have built? Are we willing to gamble with lives?
The virus is very much pretty active and even if there are already vaccines, the virus is here to stay. And as long as this virus exists, our lives will never be back to normal again. Let’s face that.
Ten or so months ago, at the start of the pandemic, many of us found it easy and natural to imagine a time when all of this would be over; a single, obvious moment when society’s recreational life resumes to normal, when friends and family would welcome us into their homes with hugs and kisses and we all talk with excitement. We were free to travel and roam around without fear of being infected with a dreaded disease.
Many experts have said a true return to normalcy isn’t likely until a vaccine is widely available. Maybe the vaccine will be available here in the country in the middle of next year. Unless there are changes in our orders from various pharmaceuticals abroad that manufactured their own vaccines. Pfizer-BioNtech was the first to come up and introduce its vaccine in the United Kingdom.
In the meantime, what we need to do is observe the minimum health protocols that we used to adopt since Covid-19 surfaced. But a vaccine does not necessarily mean the end of Covid-19. I think it would quite likely become similar to the seasonal flu or perhaps like some other coronavirus we are familiar with. It is entirely plausible that this could become part of our regular landscape of respiratory viral infections, some experts said.