It is said that out of a difficult experience, great things emerge. I have been learning a lot during this pandemic. As difficult as it has been, it has enriched my soul. I hope it has done the same for you.
Do you mind sharing with me how COVID -19 has enriched your soul or how you have been living it? Any new lessons? How has it been for your family?
20 years from now when people ask us how we lived through the pandemic, what will we say? These are some responses Bishop Bolen got from the people.
I have found the responses very enriching. I’ll share some with us every week.
- “In 20 years from now, I hope that people say that out of the turbulence of our times, the suffering that came from the virus, the shut down, loss of work & depression: in the midst of all this, we learned something new about listening to and walking with those who are suffering. It made us more compassionate especially towards the marginalized, and through our experience of suffering, we came to an understanding of our united humanity more deeply. We came to see that we are part of something larger than our own lives and that we are in this together.”
- “In 20 years from now, we will share with them that it was a time of profound longing for the Sacraments: a time of Spiritual hunger and thirst. But it led to a revitalization of our faith. Longing led to a deeper appreciation. We realize the value of what we have lost and stopped taking for granted the gift of our faith life. After COVID-19, we had a renewed sense of the Eucharist as a Center of the Christian life. Because of the experience of fasting, it all meant more for us. The joy now was connected to the longing then. I hope they’ll say something about the incredible joy of the first public Mass after the pandemic: that the joy was more contagious than the virus in a more lasting way. When we went back, it was like we understood the death and resurrection of Jesus in a new way. We felt it from the inside.”
to be continued ….
Your brother,
Fr. Obi