By Kari Bergmann
We are currently facing challenges in response to the coronavirus that seem unprecedented to many of us. I myself cannot remember a time when I could not attend a public Mass, nor can I think of a time when I was directed not to leave my home unless it was for an essential purpose. The restrictions that the government has placed on us have been compared to war-time protocol or the response to the Spanish Flu, which few of us remember. I think it’s fairly easy to catastrophize our current situation, and the media certainly helps in that regard. But it’s important to note that throughout history, many of our Christian brothers and sisters have been through similar experiences (and much worse).
We can be both encouraged and challenged by the men and women who have faced the trials of their own times and held fast to the faith. I have felt sadness and disappointment knowing that I may not be able to attend Mass or receive the Eucharist for a matter of weeks, possibly months, but I am inspired by the example of people like the martyrs of Japan and Korea, many of whom went for years without Mass and some of whom had never seen a priest!
It is both beautiful and humbling to think of these people growing closer to Christ and even dying for him without access to the sacraments and Mass. It forces me, when looking at my own faith and my relationship with Christ, to wonder what I can do to live as they did. How can I deepen my faith and draw closer to Christ and my fellow parishioners even when I’m stuck at home? How can I care for my neighbour when I cannot see them in person? How can I deepen my love of the Eucharist when I cannot receive it?
I would like to highlight the examples of two women, Bl. Olympia Bida and Bl. Laurentia Herasymiv (1911-1952), who faced far more challenging circumstances than we do currently, yet they were able to love and serve Christ. The nuns were sisters of Saint Joseph in the town of Khyriv, Ukraine. After the establishment of the Soviet regime the sisters suffered a number of attacks on the convent. Nevertheless, they continued to care for the children, to catechize, to organise underground religious services (often without a priest). In 1950, they were arrested by the Soviet agents of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs and sent to a Boryslav labour camp.
Eventually, the sisters were sentenced to lifelong exile in the Tomsk region of Siberia. Sister Laurentia suffered from tuberculosis during this time. “She spent the last two years of her life without the Sacraments and in the near certainty that she would have no opportunity for viaticum or a final confession.” Even on her deathbed Bl. Laurentia Herasymiv begged for the Eucharist, though no priest was present to give it to her. Bl. Olympia also died within a few months of Bl. Laurentia. Both sisters, in their unwavering faith unto death, their continued service to others, and their fervent desire to be united with Christ in the Eucharist, show us how we can and should live during this trying time.
Bl. Olympia Bida...Pray for us.
Bl. Laurentia Herasymiv...Pray for us.