In this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, Professor Janet Smith of the Sacred Heart Media Seminary joins us to talk about the call for the return of the sacraments to the dioceses of the whole wide world.
00:00:00.800Welcome to this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, where we're going to be talking about an appeal, an appeal being made to the bishops of the whole wide world to please give us back the sacraments in a safe way, however they can, but to please make sure that they know that this is an absolute essential for Catholics and for the world.
00:00:21.380You're going to want to stay tuned. We've got Janet Smith, Professor Janet Smith from the Detroit Seminary, who's going to be talking with us. Stay tuned.
00:00:30.000Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.
00:00:54.580In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
00:00:58.320Professor Janet Smith, welcome to the program.
00:01:02.600Well, thank you very much. You do know I'm retired. I was of the Sacred Heart Media Seminary, but now I'm a free agent.
00:01:17.980So, let's talk about this. This has been, I mean, the world has absolutely changed everywhere.
00:01:22.900We're heading into a holy week with absolutely no public celebrations, at least for the most part, in Rome, in the Vatican, in most dioceses around the world.
00:02:00.280You know, they've published some letters of, we'll get through this together.
00:02:03.560And most of them are offering their Sunday mass live streamed.
00:02:08.820But as far as really explaining to us why they've made the decisions they've made and convincing us that they are doing everything they can to make certain that we have what access to the sacraments is permitted to us during this time.
00:04:26.960In Canada, they have the pot stores open.
00:04:28.860In many jurisdictions in the United States, abortion facilities continue to run.
00:04:34.640And yet, because they're all considered essential services.
00:04:38.160And somehow, they're not considering the holy sacrifice of the mass, the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, sometimes even for the dying, as essential services.
00:05:16.040And the sacraments are essential to us sustaining that relationship, right?
00:05:21.640And we need to let people understand that we don't understand our religion to be just a social gathering with some prayer, right?
00:05:28.920This is a profoundly meaningful and effective, effective ceremony that brings graces into this world that are necessary for fighting things like the coronavirus.
00:05:40.400And the man or woman who's dying on their deathbed in the hospital, right?
00:05:44.260And priests are being denied entry to the hospital.
00:05:52.260This isn't like delivering a teddy bear, right?
00:05:55.560This is bringing to this person on the last moment of their lives something that they wanted their whole lives at the last moment of their lives.
00:06:03.400We can equip priests with this personal protective equipment and get them in there.
00:06:09.140And if hospitals are denying it, the bishops need to be on the phone.
00:06:13.160They need to be on the phone to the president of the hospital, to the board, to the doctors, any influential person.
00:06:20.040And saying, you know, this is not, as you said, this is essential.
00:06:24.620It's not something that we can just say, okay, we'll shrug our shoulders.
00:06:27.900Or, you know, we hope we can return to normalcy.
00:06:32.280You say, no, this is not a dispensable thing.
00:09:30.040I mean, if you had a Sunday obligation, going to the mass of 4 million would count and sitting in front of the TV with a close-up would not, right?
00:09:38.380And we are Catholics and we understand this.
00:09:42.400You know, and I've been singing to people the song from My Fair Lady, I Want to Be on the Street Where You Live.
00:09:51.220Lovers want to be in close proximity to those they love.
00:09:54.740So it's not the same to watch it on TV.
00:09:58.560I've greatly enjoyed, much more than I possibly thought I would, watching the liturgy on TV.
00:10:04.720But if I could get, if right now someone said the mass is going to be down there and you can be down there in your car in 10 minutes, I'm on my way.
00:10:32.380You love the one who's in there and the sacrifice is going on.
00:10:36.740You can unite yourself to it in a way you're outside a door.
00:10:40.540But, you know, do you remember when our Lord was telling the Samaritan woman, you know, she was asking for a miracle and he was saying, you know, you're not allowed to have it.
00:10:49.620It's the food from the table shouldn't be given to the dogs.
00:11:02.700We'll take the scraps from outside the door.
00:11:05.180Our Lord is in there, but we can be at least as close to him as we possibly can through the door or whatnot, but we're still there.
00:11:11.540Yeah, some nasty person on my Facebook page, whenever I post something, he says, oh, it's just a show of piety.
00:11:19.200You're just trying to have a show of piety.
00:11:21.680And I want to say, how do you know that?
00:11:24.060I mean, if you understood, as you said, there's a beautiful picture of the doors of the Holy Sepulchral Church in Jerusalem, and it's been closed.
00:11:35.900People can't go in to visit the spot of the nativity.
00:11:39.220And there's a man sitting on the stoop with his head against the door.
00:11:43.200And, you know, someone's claiming to me that this is just sensationalism, emotionalism.
00:22:06.860Christ is in what was the bread and the wine, and he's also present in this sacramental way in the priest himself when he's consecrating the sacrament.
00:22:22.320So this is not, nothing's substitutable here.
00:22:26.360We can't get together for a pizza and call it a Eucharist.
00:22:29.480We can't put an unordained person up there to save mass for us.
00:22:35.440So other religions don't have so many strictures as we do.
00:22:40.380And we believe that you were all handed down by Christ, that this was all established by Christ in his church.
00:22:46.500We're doing what Christ has asked us to do.
00:22:49.840And so, yes, this is why it's unique for us.
00:22:55.540We have needs, sacramental needs, that other groups don't, honestly.
00:23:01.020So let us end this off with your appeal.
00:23:07.780Why don't you give a direct appeal to the bishops in your own words, just make it to them.
00:23:13.800And we'll use that, we'll pray with you for that, but also use that so folks out there get the message that they can convey to their own pastors, their own bishops.
00:23:22.680Yeah, I would like, I suppose I hope that every bishop has watched Pope Francis in his Orby at Orby ceremony.
00:23:31.120I found it one of the most moving things I've ever experienced in my life.
00:23:34.740A very frail holy father, missing the lung, obviously impaired in his walking, short of breath when he has to go uphill in a distance, out in the cold rain.
00:23:45.960And perform this incredible ceremony, which, you know, the bishops can do for us, a Eucharistic ceremony, adoration.
00:23:53.420And if he has the time to do that, I want them to look at, I am living up to my pastoral responsibilities with my laity.
00:24:32.340But we want this opportunity, unique opportunity that Catholicism offers to unleash the graces for the world in this time of the coronavirus.