Seniors lean on faith to grapple with isolation during pandemic

Friday, Jul. 17, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY — When concerns about the coronavirus pandemic forced local Catholic churches to close their doors to public Masses in March, one of the populations that was most affected was senior citizens, many of whom were in the habit of attending daily and weekend Masses, whether they live in a rural area or in the suburbs.

After public liturgies were halted, many seniors watched Mass on the television or social media platforms, but they looked forward to the day that the churches opened their doors again.

During the Church closures, Martha Vega from St. Jude Mission in Ephraim followed the Masses through the television.

“I cannot even remember how many days we didn’t have Mass; we just saw it on TV, but as soon as they said that we could go to the church, we went,” said Vega, who is a senior citizen.

As soon as diocesan officials permitted, Fr. Manuel de Jesús Ceron, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish and its missions, which include St. Jude’s, started offering one Mass on Saturday and another on Sunday, both in Spanish.

Parishioners must register to attend a specific Mass to ensure that social distancing measures can be kept, “but thanks be to God, we can go to Mass,” Vega said.

She keeps herself and her family safe by having them all wear face coverings and wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. They also limit their outside activities.

“We don’t get out too much,” she said.

She has a son who, every week, delivers groceries to their home.

“Just in an emergency we go to the grocery store and do it quickly; we don’t get distracted,” she said, adding that she feels safer in the church than in a grocery store.

But going to Mass in person has kept her spirit alive, she said.

“Now I feel that, more than ever, we need to take care of ourselves but also of our brothers and sisters,” said Vega, who suggests that if people don’t have to get out, they should stay home, where they are safe.

“We cannot be looking for the evil, because we will find it,” she said.

Prayer has also been a source of strength for her.

“Now we have to be in prayer for the good of our families and for the recovery of the sick. That’s the main thing here and now,” she said. “We don’t know when this is going to end, but we cannot give up. We have to take care of our health physically and spiritually. ... I am thinking that people are not scared or worried anymore. It seems that they are thinking that if the virus hasn’t affected them, it won’t, and if they haven’t been going to Church that they don’t need it anymore. … People are getting used to forgetting about God.” 

But if people were more intelligent about reacting to the pandemic, “we would not be asleep, we would take action and help each other,” she said. “We need to pray for each other. God is always with us, but we have to do our part.”

Like Vega, St. Francis of Assisi parishioner Soledad Lomeli was very happy when her local church opened its doors again.

Lomeli is a senior citizen who lives by herself, and the joy of her life relies on being able to participate in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, she said.

Since the pandemic began, she has been grateful to parish ministers for all the efforts that been made to keep parishioners safe but, at the same time, close to God, she said.

“God is the only one who will protect us and help us through this pandemic,” she said, adding that keeping the Catholic faith alive is very important.

People have lost their way, she said.

“We have been doing lots of bad things. We need to return to being good to each other, to respect each other,” she said.

To take care of herself, Lomeli has been following all the rules and regulations that authorities have put in place since the beginning of the pandemic. She has been wearing a mask in public, washing her hands as much as she can, and trying to not to go out except for the basics and to go to Mass.

“It is important to follow these rules, but also to get closer to God,” she said.

Keeping the faith alive and trying to do things the right way will contribute to the wellbeing of all, she said.

“Do not sin, get closer to God, keep him present in our daily lives and respect, respect, respect our human rules and our divine ones,” Lomeli said.