Mission Moments

“Lockdown,” by Brother Richard Hendrick

Lockdown

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

“A Prayer for Our Times,” by Cindy Schmersal, vice president for Mission and Ministry 

Ever-faithful Companion,  

Help us to always find You, God, in all things, 

especially in this time of uncertainty, 

as we navigate disruptions to the familiar and heightened anxieties. 

Make us attentive  

to the kernels of hope,  

in-breaks of joy, 

and invitations to stillness that subtly saturate our lives. 

In these gifts and in all glimpses of grace, 

may we find sustenance.  

Remind us often of our call to community. 

And, in responding to the need for social distancing, 

awaken us to the summons to foster creative community. 

Inspire us to reach beyond the boundaries of isolation. 

In so doing, help us to link heart and hand 

with You in caring for the vulnerable 

and in laboring for a more compassionate and humane world 

at this time and at all times. 

Video message from Fr. Curran