Quarantine, Ash Wednesday, & Lent

Notice of cancellation of worship services in South Korea

It would be difficult not to be aware of the "novel coronavirus", aka COVID19. The death toll in China, the country of origin, now exceeds 2,200 with tens of thousands infected. There have been only a handful of reported cases in Canada and no one has died but we all have a heightened awareness because hundreds of Canadians are in quarantine because they had spent time in China.

The early reports are that the number of influenza cases are down this year in North America, likely because the COVID19 scare is causing people to be more vigilant about hand-washing and other precautions. We have a couple of friends with compromised immune systems who are in self-imposed quarantine because of their concerns about viruses. 

I hadn't really thought about what the effect of all this might be for Christians in countries where the threat is greatest. I just read that both the Hong Kong and South Korean dioceses of the Roman Catholic church have  banned masses with the celebration of the eucharist or communion for the next few weeks. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, falls within that prohibition so there will be no services, which include the cross imposed on the forehead made with ashes from the burning of last year's palm branches. 



I assume that this also means that on the first Sunday of Lent these Christians will not come together to hear about Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, his own literal quarantine. Rather ironic, don't you think? The "modern" notion of quarantine began in the Middle Ages as an attempt to curb the spread of the Black Death or bubonic plague. Research shows that the death rate amongst clergy was higher than the general population because priests were more likely to be tending to the dying. 

The good news is that Lent will unfold as it should in these parts. Perhaps we can all pray for those affected by COVID19, wherever they are, and whatever their religious background. In Trenton, where we attend worship there may still be some people in quarantine at the military base, although many of them were released today. God be with them all. 



Jim Crace novel about Jesus' time in the wildnerness