COVID May Have Exposed How We Catholics Make Our Faith About Us

Let's be honest. One of the greatest gifts that the Lord has given us in this day and age is the gift of technology. This is especially so for us as Catholics. There is a great variety of online resources to aid us in our prayer life, and to be formed in the faith. From the encyclicals of the Church being made available to us with just a simple search on google, to the various YouTube Channels that aid Catholics in being formed in the faith, to applications such as Univeralis and CatholicSG, there really are a multitude of resources to aid us in being formed, as well as in our prayer life. 

In a way, it is truly a blessing that this global pandemic is happening in this day and age, where technology is so advanced. Should it have happened in the past, these resources for prayer and formation would not be so easily available to Catholics, and we would be finding it much harder to be keeping our relationships with our God alive, especially if the Liturgies and Sacraments had to have been suspended. We really are very fortunate and very blessed. Thanks to technology, ever since the parish liturgies were suspended in February, many parishes and many priests from all over the world have been able to step forward to provide for the spiritual needs of the laity on cyberspace. While we certainly cannot receive the Lord sacramentally through our computer screens, we have been able to be fed and nourished by the Table of the Word, and by many other platforms that broadcast various devotions.

However, as much as I praise and thank our God for the gift of technology, that has aided the Church in providing the spiritual needs of the people during this time of pandemic, I think it's also timely for us to consider if the world of the internet has fed into the consumeristic mentality that the human race seems to possess in this day and age, and if this has been more of a hinderance than a help to our call to discipleship. 

It's no secret that all of us, myself included, are consumeristic people. And that need not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, the growth of consumerism has led to majority of the organisations around the world constantly striving to improve their standards, so as to better serve the needs of their customers. However, when it comes to our faith, we need to remember that it is not about us. And the sad reality is that with a large variety of liturgies and other devotions being easily available on the internet, there is a very real temptation for us to make it about ourselves, about worshipping in accordance to our own preferences, and even about our own convenience. 

Let me cite some examples. There are Catholics who know that they should attend Mass every Sunday, even if it has to be online. However, to them, attending the online Masses has become something that they just need to check off their list of things to do every Sunday, perhaps at best to appease an angry God. They would much rather be doing many other things on their Sundays, such as sleeping in, having small gatherings with their families and friends (hopefully in accordance with the safety restrictions), watching Football, and the list goes on. And because of the many other things they'd like to do on Sundays, they search the internet for the shortest possible Mass, even if it's from a country where Sunday has already passed, and they simply follow it. Some of them even skip the Gathering Hymn at the start, and close their browser once the Final Hymn is being sung. 

There are also some who come from parishes where separate liturgies are broadcasted. For instance, the parish could be broadcasting the Mass for the parishioners at a certain timing, and while that's going on, the priest in charge of the youths may be broadcasting the Mass specially for the youths on a different platform. For the young people in such parishes, who want to follow their parish's livestream, they have the luxury of choice. If they feel like they'd like to get Mass over and done with as soon as possible, they attend the Mass that the parish is broadcasting. If they wish to have a homily that is tailored to them, or to have some upbeat music for worshipping purposes, they attend the youth Mass. 

There are even some who follow the Mass for the sake of following the priest. There are parishes that broadcast the Liturgy online every Sunday, but week after week, it's the same priest that presides at the liturgy. Some priests have even started personal initiatives to broadcast the Liturgies on their own channels. And while I am certainly not taking a shot as such priests who are truly caring to go the extra mile to reach out to the people of God, but because the Liturgy is made available to the whole world over the internet, many people who like that particular priest may choose to follow that parish's broadcast instead of following their own parish's broadcast, or our Archbishop's broadcast of the Liturgy. 

There are also the more discerning ones, the ones who want more than the smells and bells of our faith. However, they often feel under-nourished by the homily from their parish's liturgy, or from the Liturgy broadcasted by our Archbishop. And therefore, many Singaporean Catholics choose to wait until the late hours of the night to catch the Mass presided by YouTuber Pastors, such as Fr. Mike Schmitz, or Bishop Robert Baron. 

I know that this musing is going to unruffle the feathers of many. I know that when I post this in social media, I am likely going to spark off some form of debate or argument among the faithful. And while I assure you, my dear reader, that I do not intend to offend anybody by writing this musing, or any of my musings for that matter, I think that it is timely for us as Catholics to consider if we have been making our faith all about ourselves during this time of pandemic. 

The Christian faith is never solely about the self. It is not a buffet where we can pick and choose which elements of Jesus we want to be fed with. It is about someone who is greater than us, and it is about living our faith for others. And while I agree that we do need to take care of our own needs, we need to also remember that our God does not feed solely feed us with what we want. Rather, he feeds us with what we need, and he will never shortchange us. By picking and choosing, we also can run the risk of making our God very small and the risk of trying to force the hand of God, rather than trusting in his loving providence. 

Some may argue that I am making mountain over molehill. Perhaps I am. I absolutely agree that most of our parishes and our clergy are doing their utmost best to provide for the needs of their people. I also understand that there is a need for us to meet people where they are. However, we also need to move past our expectations for our pastors to spoon-fed us like we are babies. And I also feel that pastors should also move past spoon-feeding their flock because by doing so, they run the risk of not wanting their people to grow, as they need the people to need them. They too can run the risk of building their own kingdoms and fan clubs, rather than building the kingdom of God. And as laity, we too should do our best to help our pastors not to fall into that trap. And we should be conscious to not fall into that trap ourselves either. 

At the end of the day, let us always remember that the faith that we profess is not about us. Let us challenge ourselves to be intentional about this, and about building God's kingdom, not our own.