TORONTO, Canada, December 8, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A religious sister and former nurse called out the harm and injustice of COVID-related lockdowns during a rally held on Nov. 26 in protest of restrictions recently imposed in the Candadian province of Ontario.
“We’re here to show Canada we are not in favor of all these lies that are going on about this coronavirus. We are free people. We are made free, given this freedom by Almighty God to adore Him, to worship Him, to love Him,” Sr. Maria Francis explained to LifeSiteNews while outside the Ontario legislature during the “No More Lockdowns” rally.
The most recent government restrictions for the area of Toronto and Peel limit gatherings for religious services to a maximum of 10 people. In response, the Archdiocese of Toronto has decided to temporarily cancel public Mass altogether, rather than hold public Masses with attendance restrictions.
Sr. Francis shared with LifeSiteNews a plea addressed to the Church hierarchy: “We ask our leaders of our Catholic Church — we pray for all of you — we ask you to please, do not allow the house of the Lord to be closed. It belongs to God. And God wants us to adore Him, to worship Him, to give all our best to our Lord. We need the Catholic church to stand solid, for the love of God, for the triumph of Christ the King.”
“We need our Lord at this moment. Every moment of our life we need God. If we don’t have God in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments, what are we here for?” she continued.
“Let us stand together for the Lord, just for the Lord. And we will be able to face the Lord in the end of our life — happy and honest and true and pure — to face the Lord and tell Him, Lord, I’ve done everything for You.”
Sr. Francis also discussed the destructive effects of the lockdowns with Fr. Anthony Hannan, who runs a YouTube channel called “To Prepare His Way,” and is currently preparing a retreat apostolate.
“When I entered the convent, we opened a retirement home and I practiced my nursing right away,” Sr. Francis explained to Fr. Hannan. She has been a nun for 34 years.
“Wearing masks all day long, breathing your own bacteria, and also you deprive your brain of oxygen. Being a nurse, I know what it is. You know, you get dizzy, you get headaches, you fall down,” she said.
Sr. Francis also lamented the social harm of the lockdowns, and their hindrance of the practice of Christian charity: “This is taking away our liberty to love, to be social people. We are not made for ourselves, we are made for others.”
“It’s a demonic thing to take you away from your loved ones, not to have a Christmas celebration. That’s taking God away from the family and taking love away in the family,” she continued. “This is a form of euthanasia.”
A few months ago, a 78-year-old woman had asked her family to have her euthanized after being confined for months in her room under COVID-19 restrictions. Her daughter told iNFONews that “if things can change she does not want to die.”
Residents at a Colorado nursing home also attracted press in October when they held a protest against visitor regulations which prevented physical contact with family, with one sign reading that they would “rather die of COVID than loneliness.”
Sr. Francis told Fr. Hannon that we should not fear getting infected with COVID-19 when we receive Holy Communion.
“Receive your Communion on the tongue. Because our Lord wants us to receive Him with respect, reverence, and love. This is what we should show God. God is our only love, and without God we cannot do anything,” said Sr. Francis.
Cardinal Thomas Collins has explicitly banned the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue in the Archdiocese of Toronto, and said during a webinar that he would “shut down” priests who did not comply with the ban.
“I’ve dealt with cases, and I said to a priest, ‘I will shut you down. I will shut you down in a heartbeat!’” Collins said.
Sr. Francis explained to LifeSiteNews the mission of Catholics in no uncertain terms: “We must continue to pray, love the Lord, serve Him, and beg Him to crush — and our Lady to crush — the head of the serpent.”
“We are here to stand for the mighty reign of Christ the King, and for Our Lady, the Immaculate Heart of our Lady, for her Immaculate Heart to triumph. We are here to stand for the Truth, and nothing but the Truth, Jesus Christ.”