Readers Speak Out: December 27, 2020

No evidence

Re: Mass is essential to our Catholic life (Dec. 9):

Charles Lewis rightly says that the “Mass is essential” to Catholics but that the Ontario government doesn’t understand this. The government recently demonstrated this when it tried to stop COVID spread by forcing Toronto churches to close. No evidence was offered to justify the action. Ironically, just a few weeks prior Premier Doug Ford said that churches had done a “great job” of preventing infection.

Meanwhile big box stores as well as liquor and beer stores are deemed essential, allowing them to be open. It’s a contradictory approach wrongly implying that churches spread COVID while outlets designated as essential do not.

Amid the COVID crisis the Mass is even more essential giving Catholics spiritual strength and hope. So closing churches is counterproductive.

Claudio Ceolin,

Toronto

Fasting trial

I ponder whether the lockdown of churches in Toronto, Peel and now York is a fulfillment of prophecy given by Our Lord to a question regarding fasting: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Perhaps the pandemic has in the wisdom of Divine Providence ushered in the days of fasting, even fasting from the Eucharist. Maybe I need such a trial. This “virtual fast” has forced me to examine my devotion toward the Eucharist. While the Holy Sacrifice is certainly more essential than grocery shopping or going to Tim’s, did I habitually approach it, and the other sacraments, with the same “customer service expectations” as when frequenting merchants at the mall?

Like Nebuchadnezzar’s army, perhaps COVID-19 is meant to sack my proud temple. With not one stone left on another perhaps the Holy Spirit finally has some room to operate in my soul. 

Michael Chard,

Toronto

Rescue mission

Considering all the astounding failures of the Donald Trump presidency, it is amazing that the opinion expressed in the letter in the Dec. 6 issue was printed. The feeling of the majority of the voters was to vote against Trump because he could not govern. He ignored the COVID virus and did not provide the hospitals with the personal protection equipment needed.

Please note that Joe Biden is now the President-elect, an honest, God-fearing man. The world will relax when President-elect Biden becomes officially installed on Jan. 20, and the country will be able to rescue democracy.

Virginia Edman,

Toronto

Barbaric ritual

We all feel like dying some days, death being the solution to all our problems, but tomorrow is another day and in it miracles do happen. It seems to me that the very people who claim we need medically-assisted death are the very people who are farthest away from dying because the “really dying” all want to live.

I find it astounding, presumptuous, alarming that any government would involve itself in this barbaric ritual. We can die on our own, have always done so, thank you very much.

Steve Salmaniw,

Stirling, Ont.