Category: COVID-19

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The Stone Rejected

Fifth Sunday of Easter (A)  John 14: 1-12

 

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”  – John 14:1

Our Gospel reading for this Sunday is also one of the options for a Funeral Mass.  One does not need to be a Biblical scholar to understand this.  The words of Jesus speak directly to the grief and loss of the mourners, offering consolation and a solid basis for hope.  As such, these words bear a fresh meaning for us as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Over a quarter of a million people have died around the world so far due to the effects of the coronavirus.  Many of then died without the presence of family or clergy.  For each one, there are relatives and friends who suffer grief at their death and who wonder what more they could have done to help.  There are many more who fear the coronavirus and lock themselves away. Continue reading “The Stone Rejected”

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Quarantine and Acedia

Our soul waits for the Lord,
  who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us
  who have put our hope in you.   Psalm 33:20, 22

Here in the State of Maine, it has been five weeks since public Masses were suspended.  It has been three weeks since Governor Mills issued a stay-at-home order for the residents of Maine.  Some people are working at home.  Others who have “essential” jobs continue to go in to work.  Still others have lost their jobs, at least for the time being. For Catholics, we find that our weekly routines have changed.  Going to Mass on Sundays is no longer on the schedule.  Masses are live-streamed from many parishes, and efforts are being made to reach out to people in various ways.

Early on, when all this was new, some people (at least) may have felt some excitement about it.  There may have been the novelty of seeing our parish church and our pastor celebrating Mass on TV or on one of our digital devices.  But the novelty has worn off, at least for some.  I hear of a growing hunger for the Eucharist itself, a feeling that “this can’t go on indefinitely”, a desire to go to Mass and celebrate the sacraments.  Some people now find the live-streamed Masses insufficient.  A few even say that they prefer the emptiness of not watching Mass than the sense that watching Mass may give them that “everything is okay”. Continue reading “Quarantine and Acedia”

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Prophecy Gone Viral

Easter Sunday 2020

 

Before COVID-19 appeared, cancer was the frightening “c”-word. To hear that diagnosis felt, to many, like a death sentence, even if the prognosis wasn’t that at all.  Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States die of cancer every year.  Many more survive.  Many of you have been directly touched by cancer, either in yourself or in your loved ones. Continue reading “Prophecy Gone Viral”

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Autism in the Pandemic: When We Don’t Conform

The following post was written by Aimée O’Connell, founder of the Mission of Saint Thorlak – which is now found at autismconsecrated.com.  I am also very involved with that website.  It seeks to support ministry both by and for autistic people, guided by the Way of Saint Thorlak.  Please feel free to browse that site. I offer this post here because I believe it will be encouraging for autistic people who follow my blog.  I hope it may be enlightening for people who seek to understand and love their autistic sisters and brothers. Continue reading “Autism in the Pandemic: When We Don’t Conform”

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The COVID-19 Zone

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How We Learn To Stop Worrying and Surrender to Love

 

We are about to begin Holy Week.

April is Autism Awareness Month.

We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All three realities converge for us now.  What do they have to do with one another? Nothing… and everything.   The pandemic, and our responses to it, have brought us to a crisis moment as the People of God.  There is hope on the horizon – an immense, brilliant hope, hidden in Christ but offered to us now.  Before we can perceive this hope, we must acknowledge our situation as it is. This will be very difficult for many.  It entails seeing things in a manner differently than the world as a whole sees things.  That is why we need to look to autistic people – people who habitually see things differently; people who are not fooled by ‘spin’ – as an example of what this means and how it can work.  It is the hour when people who appear to be of no use – such as autistic people and contemplatives – may have something valuable to share with everyone else.

Let us begin. Continue reading “The COVID-19 Zone”