The Church & The Plague

Last night my husband and I watched a documentary on The History Channel about the Bubonic Plague in Europe during the 14th century. It was interesting that during that period of history religion, specifically Catholicism, was the center of many peoples' lives and it was a common practice to attend mass daily. The idea that God punished people through such things as famine, drought, plagues, etc. was drilled into the masses by the Church. It was instilled that the sins of the people were so great so it was obvious that God was smiting them. (Aside: I love all forms of the word smite - smote, smiting - it is a very entertaining word for me.) It was also drilled into the peoples of olde, as well as today, that before one dies that they should receive Last Rites (also called the Blessing of the Sick). For those non-Catholics out there, this means that the dying person delivers their last confession to a priest, who will then "absolve them of their sins" and give them the Eucharistic host (if able) before they pass on, thus ensuring a shorter wait into the Pearly Gates.

So, as it goes, once the plague broke out and people were dying left and right, the clergy in many of the churches made themselves purposely 'unavailable'. People would carry their dying children into the vestibules of the church for the administration of Last Rites only to see the priest scurrying away into their chambers.

Jesus said, "Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me."

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man gives up his life for his friends." - John 15:13

The Church then decreed that those dying who wished to receive Last Rites were given permission to confess to each other, even if that last person to see them was...(wait for it)... a WOMAN. Confess to a woman? A woman who was obviously not a coward to be there to care for the dying. A woman who does not make last-minute decrees (as appointed by the Lord - ha!) to preserve their life instead of carrying out the sworn and honorable duty of caring for the dying ones and seeing their spiritual comfort and assurance is tended to. A woman who does not serve the Church during the day and a mistress at night.

Flipping papal hypocrites. The more things change the more they stay the same.

So, you have a panicked populace scared to death of dying, upset that their God is smiting them for their terrible sins, but even more panicked at the thought of not receiving a last confession and Eurcharist. The Church was officially unavailable. They felt they were damned. The worst feeling in the world, I imagine. There were also zealot crazies who would scourge themselves while walking up and down the street because they thought they needed to suffer as Christ did to "make up for this smiting".

Today the Church pushes for baptisms moreso than Last Rites, I feel. But even unbaptized babies immediately return to the Grace of God. For what sin did they commit unto themselves that would warrant eternity in purgatory or (a fictional) hell? There is no such thing as Original Sin, remember - that was an invention of St. Augustine. I did a post on this if you want details of this laughable concept. Original Sin means that we were created in God's imperfection. Like He spillled coffee on our blueprint or something.

All I can say is that it is absolutely ridiculous for anyone to think that they can save themselves, let alone any others - babies, the dying, etc. God is the only hope for us. We are but weak vessels barely able to spiritually support our sad selves of our own volition. Why is this such a hard concept to grasp? We're unable to stop ourselves as we age and fall apart. We are unable to stop current events, wars, poverty, etc. We are unable to stop ourselves from that second piece of cake. So how the hell can people think that they are able to provide themselves with their own salvation? It is only through God that this is possible. And I believe this to be true.