How should Catholics behave in this time of coronavirus?

Lent is proving that we will never forget. As ironic, as we carry our unique crosses with various sacrifices this Lent, we also have the reality of a pandemic that is causing acute panic around the world. Churches are closing, people are isolating themselves, store shelves are becoming desolate and public places are empty.

As Catholics, what should we do while the rest of the world is in an anxious frenzy? The short answer is to continue practicing the faith. Tragically, however, the public celebration of Mass was suspended by many bishops because of fears of the epidemic.

If Mass and the Sacraments are not available, how can we continue to practice faith and respond to this situation? I can suggest that we don't need to try something new. We simply perform the proven method that the Church has given us. The method that works best in a crisis. That simple method is:

Take it easy
To pray
Veloce
This basic recipe for keeping calm, praying and fasting will get the job done. Not that this is a new invention. Rather, because this formula comes directly from the Church through Jesus and Saint Paul.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God" (Philippians 4: 6-7).

First of all, note that St. Paul recommends staying calm. The Bible repeatedly warns us not to be afraid. The phrase "do not fear" or "do not fear" appears about 365 times in the Scriptures (Deut. 31: 6, 8, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 41:10, 13, 43: 1, Joshua 1: 9, 1 John 4 : 18, Psalm 118: 6, John 14: 1, Matthew 10:31, Mark 6:50, Hebrews 13: 6, Luke 12:32, 1 Peter 3:14, etc.).

In other words, what God constantly tries to make known to those who ardently follow him is: "It will be fine". This is a simple message that any parent can appreciate. Can you think of an era when you taught your apprehensive 4-year-old boy to swim or ride a bicycle? It is a constant reminder for “Don't be afraid. I got you." So it is the same for those who follow God. We need total security for God. As Paul mentions, "All things work well for those who love God" (Romans 8:28).

Just like an athlete in a crucial last game or a soldier on a battlefield, now you have to exhibit a calming state free of anxiety or fear.

But how can we calm down amid a pandemic around the world? Simple: pray.

After moving from insurance to calm down, Paul tells us in Philippians that the next important thing to do is pray. Indeed, Paul mentions that we must "pray unceasingly" (1 Thes 5:16). Throughout the Bible, the lives of the saints, we see how essential prayer is. Indeed, science now illuminates the profound psychological benefits of prayer.

Of course, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (Matthew 6: 5-13) and there are repeated times in the Gospels that Jesus prayed (John 17: 1-26, Luke 3:21, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18 , Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Mark 1:35, etc.). Indeed, at the most crucial time when he needed to be betrayed and arrested, what was Jesus doing? You guessed it, praying (Matthew 26: 36-44). Not only did he pray incessantly (he prayed 3 times), but his prayer was also incredibly intense in which his sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

Although you probably can't make your prayers so intense, one way to increase the ante of your prayers is through fasting. The prayer + fasting formula punches any demonic spirit hard. Shortly after performing an exorcism, Jesus' disciples asked why their words failed to drive out the demon. Jesus' answer is where we take our formula mentioned above. "This type cannot be driven out of anything other than prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29).

So if prayer is crucial, the other ingredient of fasting must be equally important. Before he even began his public ministry, Jesus made a fasting point for forty days (Matthew 4: 2). In Jesus' answer to the people on a question about fasting, he insinuates the need for fasting (Mark 2: 18-20). Remember that Jesus did not say if you fast, he said, "when you fast" (Matthew 7: 16-18), thus implying that fasting should already be taken for granted.

Even more, the famous exorcist, p. Gabriele Amorth once said, "Beyond a certain limit, the devil is unable to resist the power of prayer and fasting." (Amorth, p. 24) Furthermore, St. Francis de Sales said that "the enemy is more reverential in fear than those who know how to fast." (Devout Life, p. 134).

While the first two aspects of this formula seem reasonable: stay calm and pray, the last ingredient of fasting often invokes head scratches. What does fasting accomplish? Why do saints and exorcists insist that we need it?

First, it remains interesting that recent results have shown several fasting health benefits. In his book, Dr. Jay Richard points out that intermittent fasting is good for the mind and ultimately lowers the stress level.

But to understand why we need fasting from the theological point of view, we must first consider human nature. Man, created in the likeness of God, has been given an intellect and a will with which he can both discern the truth and choose the good. Given these two ingredients in the creation of man, man is made known to God and freely chooses to love him.

With these two faculties, God has given man the ability to think (intellect) and to act freely (the will). That's why this is crucial. There are two parts in the human soul that are not in the animal soul. These two parts are the intellect and the will. Your dog has passions (desires), but does not have an intellect and a will. Therefore, while animals are controlled by passions and have been created with programmed instincts, humans have been created with the ability to think before performing a free act. While we humans have passions, our passions are designed to be controlled by our will through our intellect. Animals do not have this form of creation in which they can make a moral choice based on their intellect and will (Frans de Wall, p. 209). This is one of the reasons why humans are raised above animals in the hierarchy of creation.

This divinely established order is what the Church calls "original justice"; the right order of the lower parts of man (his passions) to his higher and higher faculties (intellect and will). At the fall of man, however, the order of God by which man was forced to see the truth and choose it was injured, and man's lower appetites and passions came to govern his intellect and his will. We who inherited the nature of our first parents have not escaped this disturbance and humanity continues to struggle under the tyranny of the flesh (Eph. 2: 1-3, 1 John 2:16, Romans 7: 15-19, 8: 5, Gal. 5:16).

Anyone who has taken a Lenten fast knows seriously the war waged in the soul of man. Our passions want to drink alcohol, but our intellect tells us that alcohol consumption deteriorates our cognitive ability. Our will must make a decision - or listen to the intellect or passions. Herein lies the crux of who has control of your soul. Imperfect human nature continually listens to the dictatorship of our lower faculties over our higher spiritual faculties. The reason? Because we have been so accustomed to the ease of comfort and pleasure that our passions control our soul. The solution? Take back the kingdom of your soul through fasting. With fasting, the right order can be established again in our souls. Which, once again,

Do not think that fasting during Lent is prescribed by the Church because eating good food is sinful. Rather, the Church fasts and abstains from the flesh as a way of reaffirming the control of the intellect over passions. Man was created for something more than what meat has to offer. Our bodies were made to serve our souls, not vice versa. By denying our carnal desires in small ways, we know that when the real temptation and crisis (like coronavirus) will arise, the intellect will discern the real good and not the appetites that guide the soul. As Saint Leo the Great teaches,

“We purify ourselves from all the defilements of the flesh and the spirit (2 Cor 7: 1), in such a way as to contain the conflict that exists between one and the other substance, the soul, which in the Providence of God should be the body ruler can regain the dignity of his legitimate authority. We must therefore moderate our legitimate use of food that our other wishes may be subject to the same rule. Because this too is a moment of sweetness and patience, a time of peace and serenity, in which, after having put away all the stains of evil, we fight for firmness in what is good “.

Here, Leo the Great is describing man in his favorite state - ruling over his flesh where he can be closest to God. However, if a person is consumed by passions, he will inevitably travel a creepy road. St. John Chrysostom indicated that "the wolverine, like an overloaded ship, moves with difficulty and that, in the first storm of temptation, he runs the risk of getting lost" (True Spouse of Christ, p. 140).

A lack of temperance and control of passions leads to an inclination to indulge in innumerable overzealous emotions. And once emotions are unleashed, as can easily happen with the coronavirus situation, this will drive people away from their image of God and that of an animal - one that is totally controlled by their passions.

If we can't fast from our passions and emotions, the simple three-step formula will be reversed. Here, we will not be calm in a crisis and forget to pray. Indeed, St. Alphonsus indicates that the sins of the flesh are so controlling that they almost make the soul forget everything related to God and become almost blind.

Even more, in the spiritual realm, fasting offers a profound penance in which a person can work to elevate the suffering of himself or others. This was one of the messages from Our Lady of Fatima. Even Ahab, the worst sinner in the world, was temporarily freed from destruction by fasting (1 Kg 21: 25-29). The Nineveh were also freed from imminent destruction through fasting (Gen 3: 5-10). Esther's fast helped to free the Jewish nation from extermination (Est 4:16) while Joel announced the same call (Jn 2:15). All these people knew the secret of fasting.

Yes, in a fallen sinful world we will continually witness diseases, anguish, natural catastrophes and above all sin. What we Catholics are called to do is simply to continue building the foundations of the faith. Go to Mass, keep calm, pray and fast. As Jesus assured us, "In the world you will have anguish: but trust me, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

So when it comes to the coronavirus. Do not panic. Take on your game and continue to be authentic. There are many ways to immerse yourself in the Catholic faith during this pandemic: scriptures, reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts. But, as the Church reminds us, keep calm, pray and fast. It is a recipe that will surely accompany you on this Lent.