Covid-19: ‘As well as death being a sad time, it is also now a very lonely time’

More than 100 years ago, the poet WB Yeats, reflecting on the events of his time, wrote: “All changed, changed utterly”.

The same could be said of the effects of the current Covid-19 pandemic. While it has and is still affecting all aspects of commercial, civic and social life, likewise it is also impacting greatly on faith communities. All is changed.

In the scriptures, we hear of how the apostles and others “had all met in one room”; elsewhere, it tells us “they met every day in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously”. Since the death and Resurrection of Jesus, which marked the beginning of the life of the Church, coming together and community has been at its heart.

Since the middle of March, such coming together and community gatherings have been temporarily prohibited or greatly restricted to serve the greater good.

At the heart of the faith of the Catholic Church is the celebration of the sacraments which, with the exception of Confession, are community celebrations.

As well as the celebration of the sacraments, the coronavirus restrictions have impacted on all of our rituals, especially those around death and dying.

While, in time, faith communities will be able to come together again and celebrate, whether it be Baptism, Communion, Confirmation or Marriage, the people who have lost a loved one in death, whether by Covid-19 or by other causes, have been robbed of something very precious that they can never have restored.

The current epidemic has deprived family members from being present with their loved ones at very precious occasions. Not being able to be present at the bedside of a loved one as they depart this life is, perhaps, one of the cruellest effects of the virus.

Likewise, when it comes to so many of our rituals around death, these can never be restored.

Being able to have a loved one present in the family home, having friends and neighbours come to shake the hand, the hug, drinking the tea and recalling stories are just some of the many aspects of life that we took so much for granted and are now deprived of.

Likewise, the celebration of the funeral Mass and burial, with only a very small number present and, on many occasions, close members of the extended family excluded and not allowed to be present, is harrowing.

As well as death being a sad time, it has also become a very lonely time.

From a very personal point of view, I find the limited number and the social distancing in the cemetery very difficult. It is the natural instinct to be close, shoulder to shoulder, the handshake - but it is not to be at the present time. I also find it very strange and difficult to make the necessary funeral arrangements by phone or email.

I also think that this crisis affords us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the community of church, the living body of Christ which many, perhaps most, of us in the past have taken for granted.

Over the past few weeks, the church has tried to respond to the current reality by streaming Masses and religious services. While many people appreciate these services, they are not a substitute for a living, worshipping community.

Our lives have been “all changed, changed utterly”, and a terrible new reality has been born.

Hopefully, it is a new reality that has a very short life.

Rev. Michael Canny is PP of the Waterside Parish in Derry.