WE DO NOT LOSE HEART

We are living in unprecedented times and for most us we have not experienced anything like what is happening around us.  With the numbers of those testing positive for the Coronavirus increasing every day, and the risk to so many increasing exponentially, every precaution must be taken for the well-being of everyone.  I can only imagine the burden in Bishop Zubik's heart in announcing new restrictions yesterday for the Church of Pittsburgh.  I encourage you to take time to read his letter on www.diopitt.org.  As he says, "Today's decisions are excruciating and among the most difficult to make."

But these are not ordinary times.  The closing of all church buildings and the suspension of the celebration of the sacraments points to the pastoral decisions that the Church must make for the loving care of her people.  The Church is not abandoning or withdrawing from her people in these moments.  She is, in fact, responding in the most compassionate and caring way possible - offering her life for the protection and welfare of others. The faithful are being invited to join their lives in total sacrifice in these days for the welfare and care of others.  This is the true meaning of the sacrifice on Calvary and what is most important to us in this Lenten season.  We are called to abandon everything that is precious to us in these days so that we can be drawn more deeply into spiritual communion with our Savior, with His Church and with his people - our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.  The Church is calling us in these difficult and troubling times, in the midst of our fears and anxieties, to deepen our trust in God's providence. This is not a time to despair but to respond with love and deepen our faith.   Engage in acts of prayer; read the Scriptures; pray the rosary; discover the lives of the saints; share your faith with your family and loved ones.   These are days that we might find more time to reach out by phone to our relatives and neighbors, especially those who are elderly and homebound, or write notes of encouragement to our loved ones and friends.  Perhaps those things that we all too often take for granted or simply expect to be there, might regain a sense of mystery and awe - and a restored value and preciousness in our lives.

I am reminded of Saint Paul's words:  "So we do not lose heart...For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison.  For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:15-16).

Comments

  1. Dcn. Tom BernaMarch 29, 2020 at 8:29 AM

    Fr. Kris, thank you for sharing these words of encouragement. I often go to 2 Corinthians and see how Paul and the early disciples suffered yet did not lose hope. By God's grace this burden will pass, and God will bring good out of it. Know that I too am praying for grace and blessing, for our parishioners and for the whole world. T O M

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