September 15, 2020

The pandemic has certainly been a crisis – confusing and unexpected circumstances which interrupt our typical way of living.  There are employment and financial stresses, emotional burnout, family drama as well as the constant anxiety of contracting the virus.  In times like this, it is important to remember that the word crisis literally means “to sift,” that is, to sort through all of the stuff in the whirlwind and to take ownership of what matters to us.  Perhaps we do not need that cable package after all; perhaps we realize that social media does us more harm than good; perhaps we actually start to say “I love you” to the people whom we love.  Whatever we choose to do during this time, whatever we discover to be our true priorities in life, we should never forget that we walk with the Lord.  The Lord is the crucified one who knows what uncertainty is like.  The Lord was forced to make decisions in the very epicenter of his most vulnerable time.  Yet, he did so with trust, deep reverence and singularity of heart and mind – “Mother, here is your son,” “I thirst,” “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.”  Let us, therefore, with the Lord, sift through it all and make decisions that lead to life, not despite, but precisely because of the storm.  Ave Crux, Spes Unica!