COVID: A Catalyst for Change or Door to Demise for the Catholic Church?

A couple of months into the Pandemic, Carey Nieuwhof, a popular Christian leadership blogger, wrote, “By now you’ve realized that the coronavirus pandemic is not an interruption, nearly as much as it is a disruption.”

His words have been echoing in my mind ever since.

My hope is that COVID is neither an interruption nor a disruption but a  defibrillator.

My hope is that COVID is neither an interruption nor a disruption but a defibrillator. Share on X

Defibrillators are devices that restore a normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart. They are used to prevent or correct an arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat or to restore the heart’s beating if stopped.

“In the Church’s history, missionary drive has always been a sign of vitality, just as its lessening is a sign of a crisis of faith” (Saint John Paul II). For decades the Church’s missionary pulse has been fading. COVID didn’t cause it to happen, it merely revealed what was already there. We had an underlying condition rendering us vulnerable to the virus.

For decades the Church's missionary pulse has been fading. COVID didn't cause it to happen, it merely revealed what was already there. We had an underlying condition rendering us vulnerable to the virus. Share on X

We need a profound re-awakening to the simplicity of what missionary discipleship is all about – to be possessed by a burning love for Jesus Christ and a passionate desire to make Him known and loved by others. This is the beating heart of the Church, always has been and always will be. Church renewal, in every age, is marked by a return to the simplicity of authentic discipleship.

To be possessed by a burning love for Jesus Christ and a passionate desire to make Him known and loved by others. This is the beating heart of the Church. Share on X

Missionary discipleship must become the indelible mark of every Pastor, Bishop and Cardinal. It must be the defining characteristic of every Catholic teacher, Principle and administrator. Missionary discipleship must be the norm for parish council members, parish catechists and parents alike.

Missionary discipleship must become the indelible mark of every Pastor and Bishop; the defining characteristic of every Catholic teacher, Principle and administrator; the norm for parish council members, catechists and parents alike. Share on X

For decades a slow drip of apathy has seeped into our hearts, why evangelize when our pews are full every Sunday? Well, they aren’t full now and likely won’t be full after we return to Sunday Masses. COVID has exposed our weakening pulse.

Some might say that no one could have predicted this a year ago. While no one could have predicted the pandemic a year ago, we could have predicted the impact on our parishes and the future state of most parishes post-pandemic. The writing has been on the wall for a long time.

God is not the author of human suffering, but the pandemic must be within his permissible will. The Lord Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered” (Heb. 5:8).  What are we learning through the current suffering? What is the Spirit saying to the Church at this moment?

The coronavirus has been an interruption to the celebration of Mass, but it can be a disruption and transformation for the missionary dimension of the Church.

Our participation in the Mass has been significantly impacted, but that’s only temporary. It’s painful, as our souls ache to receive Communion and our hearts long to be with our communities, but the fasting is temporary. Mass itself has not changed, nor will it in the months and years to come. Livestreaming will not become an acceptable means of fulfilling one’s Sunday obligation. Even in the case of shut-ins who have no possibility of participating in Sunday Mass, live streaming doesn’t fulfil their obligation. Rather, they are under no obligation when through no fault of their own they can’t participate. In short, the temporary pain we feel not attending public Mass won’t become the status quo. It will go back to normal.

What cannot return to normal is the unintentional approach we have had toward missionary activity. When we return to normal Sunday Mass times, our congregations will be significantly less full than what we were used to before the pandemic.

The Church cannot operate as a club. We must embrace with renewed vigour our missionary identity.

What cannot return to normal is the unintentional approach we have had toward missionary activity. The Church cannot operate as a club. We must embrace with renewed vigour our missionary identity. Share on X

Some parishes started a telephone tree through which every parishioner gets a phone call from a volunteer every two weeks. That is beautiful, even heroic. We need the same zeal to get people out to Alpha and parish evangelistic events.

The same innovation and zeal to reach to parishioners during the pandemic need to animate our missionary outreach after the pandemic.  We need to shift our energy and zeal from those we are trying to keep (parishioners in the pews) to those we are trying to reach (non-churchgoers).

We need to shift our energy and zeal from those we are trying to keep, parishioners in the pews, to those we are trying to reach, non-churchgoers. Share on X

This is where the real disruption is taking place. This is where the Spirit is speaking. This is where I see his permissible will, his protagonism, his catalytic and prophetic presence. The Lord is allowing us to learn how to “outreach” effectively with our own people so we become passionate and capable of reaching those not yet in our parish communities.

The Lord is allowing us to learn how to “outreach” effectively with our own people so we become passionate and capable of reaching those not yet in our parish communities. Share on X

When Winston Churchill said, “Never waste a good crisis,” he wasn’t speaking about temporary adaptations to get through a tough time. It’s about leveraging the momentary crisis as a burning platform to bring about deep, transformational, organizational change. The coronavirus has created this kind of crisis for the Church. The lockdown has been an interruption to the celebration of public Mass, but a disruption – and hopefully a transformation – to the missionary dimension of the Church.

Churchill's, “Never waste a good crisis,” wasn’t about temporary changes. It’s about leveraging the momentary crisis as a burning platform to bring about deep organizational change. Share on X

Opportunities like this are rare. The crisis is forcing us to innovate and adapt our strategies and tactics in a way that is aligned to the spirit of what was envisioned when St. John Paul II called for a new evangelization – “one that is new in its ardor, new in its methods, and new in its expression.”

The crisis is forcing us to innovate and adapt in a way that is very aligned to St. John Paul II's vision for the new evangelization – “new ardor, new methods, and new in its expression.” Share on X

2,000 years ago, on Easter morning, Christ’s buried body began to breathe and his heart began to beat. Every spiritual impulse born of the Holy Spirit is infused with the same beating heart of the risen saviour. The seeking saviour wants a seeking Church. We are missionary by nature, or at least we should be.

Come Holy Spirit and fill us with a renewed commitment to the mission of Christ, which is still very far from completion.