Stronger Together

This time of our lives is almost surreal. This viral pandemic is a scary reality we must go through, but we will be stronger and better if we go through it together. We aren’t used to shutting down our lives. As a church, we aren’t used to living without our regular Sunday Eucharist and the community experience of gathering together in Christ. Our enjoyable social activities are either canceled or postponed. We cannot imagine canceling our Holy Week and Easter celebrations, but now we must accept this reality, too. Social distancing feels like the opposite of our call as a Christian community.

During many ancient epidemics, the one group that intentionally stayed behind to care for the sick and the dying was the Church. We have an impressive legacy, and it continues today.   

There are signs of vitality all around us. Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society are still operating their food distribution pantry. Our church parking lots will be used for food distribution every week. When we do good works, we embody the Love of God. WE ARE the Body of Christ. WE ARE the Blood of Christ. It is in the very marrow of our bones and our blood to be love and compassion for others. When our passion for goodness strengthens others, we manifest the Kingdom of God on earth.

When Jesus was asked, “What is the most important commandment.”, He responded not with one but two because you can’t sum up what is most important about God without saying both at the same time: Love God. Love your neighbor. As followers of Jesus, we cannot separate our love of God from our love of neighbor. This single commandment of the Lord has been the North Star as we journey together at Sacred Heart. We can’t avoid having fear and anxiety, and caring for ourselves is wise and good. We must listen now to what our faith in a loving God means and let that North Star guide our actions — even as we acknowledge we are anxious and afraid.

It’s time to redirect our energies and resources to respond in our community in new and beautifully loving ways. I’m imaging some. Maybe you are starting to think of others. Here are some to consider:

1. Be willing to be part of the tremendous effort to slow down the transmission of the virus. 
2. Take actions that minimize risk for those most vulnerable to this disease: elderly and immunocompromised persons.
3. Develop new ways of caring for one another during this crisis, such as:
1. Limit the time you spend each day watching the news! A constant message of dire straits and bad news can not only ruin your day; it can make you depressed.
2. Explore and experiment with all the ways we can use social media to connect. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean social disconnection, and it might be more important now to do these things. There are so many ways to connect and uplift. Be creative and have fun with it!
3. Look for ways this crisis will impact the poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the uninsured, immigrants, refugees. As much as possible, help meet their immediate needs and also work for a just system that serves them always, not just during a crisis.  
4. Checking in regularly with those who are vulnerable in our Church.
5. Offering assistance to those who need to isolate themselves from exposure: grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, helping them learn how to use delivery services.
6. Be aware of those who might have a difficult time managing their emotional health with increased anxiety and social isolation. Keep in touch with the lonely and isolated through phone, text, email, and social media even more than usual.
7. Listen to health care professionals for safe ways to visit the sick and care for them. Some will get sick and not have family or friends nearby to help them with meals or other personal needs.

During this globally shared experience of pandemic, we are observing what happens when a virus spreads because of one person making contact with another. We can also experience another kind of epidemic and pass on another type of infection: the love of neighbor. This was how the early Church grew quickly. Faith was ignited like a spreading fire from flesh to flesh. Ah, the contagion of love! Just think — we can spread the virus of the love of neighbor by showing what God’s Love looks like when it really matters. Embodied examples of Christ’s Love will certainly spread from person to person, infecting hearts and imaginations with compassion, and love will abound all the more. Let’s all get love-sick and spread that around!

Finally, if we keep positive about this situation, we can look at it as a time of real gift and blessing. Perhaps this time of “sabbath rest” will offer us a respite from the work-a-day lives we’ve been living. It can be a time of more personal reflection and prayer. Maybe we can reach out in surprising ways to our loved ones. Think about doing the things you love. Go outside for a walk. Plant something in your garden. Watch funny movies on TV and make popcorn. Have some great conversations during “Kool-Aid Hour.” Keep smiling. Laugh as much as you can.

You know I love all of you very much. You are my inspiration and my joy, and you live within my heart. Oh, how I look forward to that day when we gather again freely in our beautiful Church for the Sunday Eucharist! Until then, may all of us rejoice in the knowledge that Love triumphs every evil and endures any trial.

In God’s unfailing love,
Father Jerry