With almost half of Americans receiving the COVID vaccine, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be getting brighter. The number of cases continues to fall on Long Island and restrictions are being eased in public settings including places of worship. There still remains a significant number of people who are hesitant to be vaccinated or resistant for various reasons. For Catholics there may also be concern in terms of how the vaccine was produced or tested and the remote connection of the use of abortion-related cell lines in that process. The bishops of our country and the Vatican have indicated that receiving the vaccine is permissible given the world-wide suffering that the pandemic has caused and the threat to one’s own health and that of others. They affirm that being vaccinated can be an act of charity toward our neighbor that serves the common good. No one is morally obligated to be vaccinated and each person should weigh all the factors involved. The diocesan website has pertinent information in this regard.
For Vincentians there may be additional factors to be considered. It seems that there will be greater opportunity for conference members to meet in person in the months ahead. The possibility of reestablishing home visits may also be under consideration. Each conference and each member will need to consider these issues, but being vaccinated can offer greater reassurance to others whether they be neighbors in need or fellow Vincentians. We know that those vaccinated have a strong line of defense in preventing infection and transmission.
The diocese has announced that as of May 19th churches will allow for 100% of capacity. This is welcome news after such a long period of restrictions. Organizations may also resume their meetings at the discretion of the pastor but should continue to follow basic COVID protocols such as mask- wearing. This further opening coincides with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday on May 23rd. The coming of the Spirit on that first Pentecost ushered in a new era of evangelization. We are on the cusp of a new post-COVID era for our church and our country. What this will bring about is hard to predict. Will church attendance return to a pre-pandemic level or even increase? Will parish activities and parish organizations fully resume? Will the number of conferences in the diocese grow or diminish?
Given the fledgling start of the church in first- century Palestine, we should never underestimate the work of the Spirit. Frederick Ozanam was moved by the Spirit to visit the poor who were suffering under the cholera plague that spread across Paris in the 1830’s. That experience was instrumental in his founding the first conference of what would become the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Perhaps our own pandemic experience will bring about a renewed commitment to the poor and the suffering. Despite all the uncertainties that lie ahead, we can be confident that the work of the Spirit continues in our own time, in the hearts of all believers and certainly in all Vincentians.
