by Fred Moleck
Plagues and Pestilence 2009
There are probably a few Buddhist monks in reclusive cells somewhere in Mongolia who might not have heard about the current swine flu epidemic. Everyone else has been bombarded with reports of flu cases, and, at least at this writing, there has been one fatality in the United States.Nothing captures the media’s attention faster than a crisis that is hard to explain. Nothing captures our attention faster than the possible arrival of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, one of which is Pestilence, a.k.a. Plague.
Of course, any hint of an epidemic is to be taken seriously. The Middle Ages were rife with plagues and pestilence, which summoned the usual system of praying to be spared.
The prayers could range from a small pilgrimage to the shrine of a saint who worked private miracles (e.g., Thomas à Becket at Canterbury), to processions of flagellants beating themselves up.
What also need to be reckoned with are the epidemics of plagues and pestilence that have occurred more recently, such as the swine flu of 2009.
A couple of years ago, there was mad cow disease. Before that was the bird flu. Before that was the Asian flu. The real rocker was the Spanish flu, which claimed at least fifty million victims in 1918. In spite of our paltry outbreaks so far, we all must feel a little nervous about physical contact and exposure to the flu virus.
To help alleviate some of our influenza angst, our church has responded to the crises with official prohibitions. Here are some:
Several dioceses have declared that drinking the precious blood from the cup should be discontinued because of the danger of transmitting the virus.
The physical exchange of peace is also prohibited. A slight bow of the head would be acceptable. That’s not such a big deal since most churches have developed the “wave of peace,” which suffices the recognition of several people in the assembly.
I know of no diocese, however, that has recommended that the host not be placed on the tongue of the communicant because of the immanent danger of contamination by touching the saliva on the tongue of the communicant and passing it on to the next one.
The primary regulation for combating this flu is as for any flu combat—if you are sick, stay at home.
What is also true is that there is no declaration from any chancery encouraging prayer vigils or providing some intercessions relevant to the flu to be used at the general intercessions during Mass.
So, what is so difficult to include something such as “For all who are sick and who are disabled by the most recent outbreak of flu, that all may soon be healed by God’s loving embrace, we pray to the Lord”?
To pray in times of plague and pestilence seems new and a little bizarre to many of us. Maybe it’s because of the rarity of the two words. When was the last time you warned friends to watch out for the plague and be wary of any lingering pestilence?
To set your minds going into the manufacture of some type of prayer to disperse the virus demon, here is an example of an Anglican prayer, which I found in a 1799 Book of Common Prayer.
O Almighty God, who in Thy wrath didst send a plague upon Thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of Pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering Thy mercy didst save the rest; Have pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; that like as Thou didst then accept of an atonement, and didst command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please Thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@comcast.net