Jamaica Mission Trip #5 - "The Forgetfulness of Fear"

“Never forget,” Fr. Kevin Regan exhorted us at 6:30am Mass in Jamaica before heading to the airport. Our St. John Paul II Seminary vice-rector reminded us of that bumper sticker, popular after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, so that we may fight for our memories of the Mustard Seed mission trip that concluded yesterday. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll need this lesson. 

Our last two days at Jacob’s Ladder, a residence for Jamaicans with severe mental and physical handicaps, were spent building a fence around Damascus, an uninhabited village of the complex which will be used as a quarantine site if residents are infected by Coronavirus. The contingency plan took on increased urgency as news from abroad trickled in through our two or three functioning cell phones: the first case was confirmed in Jamaica as death tolls in Italy and the United States piled up. 

The group’s spirits proved buoyant. We relished the cement mixing and post-hole digging—I count five blisters on my right hand—and worked to perfect our Jamaican accents with our native co-workers (it was ree-lly sum-ting else, mahn!). Last night, our St. John Paul II soccer squad played the Jamaican staff in front of the joyful residents of Bethany village, some of whom cheered from wheelchairs. Per Coronavirus precautions, we did our best to limit physical touch to elbow taps, but the guidelines proved no match for the occasional bearhug from a joyful resident who wouldn’t settle for less. “It’s like a slice of the Garden of Eden,” remarked Deacon Jamie Morrison from the sideline. By nightfall, no one wanted to leave paradise.  

Then came a gut-punch from the outside world: the Archdiocese of Washington would cancel all public Masses indefinitely for fear of Coronavirus spread. We also learned that our return to St. John Paul II Seminary would be delayed at least a week. No one knows whether our tentative return date will hold. During our group rosary on the bus ride to the airport, I wondered how long I would wait before another group prayer with my brothers. I miss already our family at the seminary. 

Yet I smile as I miss it. I remember that the God Who fills the seminary during guest nights, the God Who dotes on his special children at Jacob’s Ladder, the God Who has shown me his faithfulness through vocational doubts, is the same God Who is in control during this global pandemic. 

He is the same whether we receive Him at Mass or in our hearts; whether we spend our holy hour in a pew or a church parking lot; whether our loved ones fall ill or make it through the physical evil of disease. Coronavirus is frightening, but He is faithful. 

This Sunday’s reading from Exodus chronicles the thirst and doubt of the Israelites in the desert: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” (Ex. 17:7) Many faithful will ask the same question on this first Sunday away from the Eucharist. May we answer with the trust and courage of a child in his Father’s arms, like so many of the residents at Jacob’s Ladder: God is Good, and He is Here.