Apollo 13

When Joseph awoke from sleep he did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her (Mary) as his wife (Matt. 1:24).

            Most people think of Apollo 13 as a Movie which starred Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. In April 1970, I lived through the real thing. I have always thought the safe return of the Apollo 13 Astronauts to be the greatest success of American Engineers and Scientists in the Twentieth Century. Just after it had left Earth orbit the side of the Service Module of Apollo 13 was blown out and the people at NASA had to find a way to keep the Astronauts alive and bring them home. Those astronauts has to fly around the Moon before they could return to Earth. They had to solve such problems as: how to stop the increasing concentration of Carbon Dioxide from killing the Astronauts; how to conserve electric power to keep their instruments working; and how to align the spacecraft so it could re-enter the atmosphere. They had to do this with only the items which were on board Apollo 13 and no manual to tell them how to do it. They had to think practically, critically and clearly in order to solve every problem (and there were many). In other words, they had to make it up as they went along. While everyone in the world worried about the Astronauts, the tension in the NASA Control Room must have been extreme. Yet, the Astronauts and NASA Engineers and Scientists enabled Apollo 13 to return to Earth safely.

            In this passage from Matthew, Joseph faced a situation for which he was unprepared and there was no manual to guide him. His betrothed (Mary) was pregnant and he was not the child’s biological father. The Jewish Law stated a Divorce was required because their relationship was violated. Joseph was an honourable man and knew what he had to do. Then the Angel revealed to him all of this was part of God’s Plan. Imagine what Joseph must have thought after receiving this news. Was what the Angel said true or an illusion? If he remained with Mary, how could the situation be explained to family and friends? What was meant when the Angel said people would be saved from their sins by this child? What else was Joseph to do as part of God’s plan? He was faced with a situation for which he was totally unprepared, his support system was imperfect and likely unreliable and the end result was unknown. What was in store for him in the future? From now on, he was going to have to make it up as he went along.

            Our current situation with Covid 19 is a lot like the one faced by Joseph and the NASA Engineers. We do not know how many individuals will be infected or die from the virus. We do not know if all the efforts to “flatten out the curve” will make much difference in preventing the spread of the virus. We do not know if the limited Medical resources we have will be enough to care for all the sick people. We do not know if the glue keeping our society together will hold if things get really bad. Yet, what we do know is if we get through today, there will be a tomorrow.

            What our situation calls for is innovation and creativity. We need to do things differently from now on. We will have to make it up as we go along. We need to do that in how we look at Covid 19 and how we treat others. The Catholic Church is not always associated with innovation and creativity. However, when cities began to grow across Europe, St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi founded their Religious Communities to respond to the situation. There was no book on how to serve people in urban settings so they wrote one. Later, when the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) killed around forty per cent of the people in Europe between 1348 and 1351 the Church was still able to care for the sick (To put that in relative terms imagine if about 10,000 people in Thorold died in the next three years). When corruption and abuses threatened to ruin the Church in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance Period, changes were implemented to set things right. In all of these cases: the problems were many; past experience provided almost no guidance; and the resources available to alter things were limited. Yet, through innovation and creativity a new way forward was found.

            What does that mean for us today? There are Priests who are celebrating daily Mass and Live-Streaming it on the Internet as the Bishop will do on Sundays and during Holy Week. It is possible to check on the vulnerable and maintain social distancing by telephone and dropping off whatever they need at the door. People can still come to Holy Rosary Church and pray for God’s help during these difficult times. They can also bring to the Church some toilet paper so the St. Vincent DePaul Society can insure the individuals they serve do not run out. Finally, members of the Parish can put their Offertory Envelopes through the slot in the Parish Office door to insure there will be enough money to pay for the heat, hydro and other bills that will arrive in the next few months.

            The challenges we face in the next weeks and months are immense. However, we should not worry if we have to make it up as we go along; we have done it before.

March 19, 2020