I saw a short video Harry Smith put together for the Today Show about what we are missing; it was wonderful and of course had some incredible production value. Then this morning I saw an article by a popular blogging Permanent Deacon from up in Queens New York. From his perspective, he too shared what he is missing. I want to share some of what I am missing but also what I hope never goes away when this is over.
First and foremost I miss my grandchildren. We have one, Brennan, that only lives 25 minutes away. Normally we visit often. We were last together on March 7th to celebrate her 2 year birthday. For now it's all phone calls and FB Live. Her mom, my daughter, is due to deliver our newest grand so I miss visiting in person as the birth of baby Walker approaches. My other 2 grandchildren live 12 hours away so for all of their life it's Skype and maybe 2 or 3 face to face visits. We have one such visit planned for later, during the summer, I pray we don't miss visiting with Calvin and Katelyn.
I miss my "normal" as a Permanent Deacon in Holy Mother Church. I miss Mass with the people. I have been able to assist at several Masses and the Triduum, including the great Easter Vigil, all without people in the pews. I miss them. I miss the robust responses and hymns and the sound of the organ. I miss distributing Holy Communion as I realize I will probably not be offering the cup anytime soon. I miss greatly my ministry at Rayburn Prison. I was last there the same day I celebrated Brennan's birthday, March 7th. We had a day long spiritual retreat and I was with the men for the morning session and helped distribute lunch, then shared a meal. I miss how these men, inmates all, are working out their salvation from behind bars. I miss their expressions of love for Christ and their devotion to the mass and the Eucharist. I miss my Bible Study group at St. Jane and think about the great series we planned to start just 2 weeks ago: the Eucharist in the Scriptures. I hope we will do this one day soon. I miss being with my Knights of Columbus brothers, the meetings, the business, the charity we give, the meals and fellowship. I miss praying the Rosary with my KC brothers as all those strong male voices lift prayer to God so boldly. I sure missed out on those last few fish fry dinners which is a staple in the Abita Springs community every Lent.
I miss eating dinner at the Abita Brew Pub, actually sitting down, sharing a meal and a Purple Haze. I miss the sight of school buses and even those pesky school zones and kids coming and going to school. I miss the ball parks and playgrounds filled with kids, I miss my customers coming inside to be helped and guided in their banking and financial needs. I miss the handshakes and the hugs but admit that I do not know when I personally will be comfortable with all that again. And I miss so much more.
Yet there are things I hope never goes away that has become part of the Coronavirus new normal. I hope our churches, especially my Catholic Church does not stop some video offering of the mass. Up to this pandemic, we took for granted those that cannot attend mass, the sick, the homebound, the inmate and even those who are prevented from the Mass because of work. As I've admitted before, I have, on many days, participated and watched 3,4, 5 daily masses. I hope night prayer on FB live with my friend Larry Fertitta never goes away along with the prayer community he has built by faithfully offering this prayer every single night. I hope that the Pope offers his daily mass every day via Zenit or Vatican News. I hope our local Pastor and our local Archbishop will still come to us a few times each week via video with messages of encouragement and words of wisdom. I hope we will all remember to do the things, if we are honest, we did not do before like washing our hands many times a day, using hand sanitizer, keeping some respectable social distancing and being more aware of how easily we took health precautions for granted. I hope the incredible thirst for Jesus in the Eucharist and being together for Mass as expressed by so many on FB and other means remains. Maybe we even took faith and Jesus for granted even though we never missed Mass. Remember after Katrina; once all were back we could not fit everyone in our churches; about one year later, not so much. I hope that health care workers, all of them, will be respected, thanked and held in high esteem. I hope we remember those working at nursing homes and we remember all those who reside there. I hope that we will always think of the small business owner, the service industry worker, the grocery and pharmacy clerks, bankers, and so many others who not only tried to keep it together but showed up as best they could through this crisis. I hope we just will be kind and caring for one another, that we never take our families for granted and we cherish our friendships. I hope, as we eventually move forward, we remember God first. I hope we, as Americans, will find a way to stop partisan bickering, although it appears even Covid-19 did not accomplish that. I hope we will learn to do things like support our local shops, we buy local, we buy American, we go to the local farmers market and town markets. I hope we play games with our kids and read more books and make Sunday a holy day and a family day. I hope our new love and respect for teachers never wanes and for many of you, parents especially, I hope you can get some relief from teaching things we really do not understand.
Right now, I hope you stay safe and healthy, that you remain patient where necessary and that you and your loved ones avoided Coronavirus. If not, I hope everyone has recovered or is recovered. I hope everyone who may have lost a loved one due to this disease, or any other disease, can find comfort and peace. I hope we can have a celebration of life and a dignified funeral for all those we lost during this time. I hope those in love can celebrate a beautiful wedding again, I hope our young ones receive Jesus soon at their 1st Holy Communion, I hope all those wanting to join the Church will do so soon. I hope we take a ride in the country, marvel at the scenery and continue to embrace life to the fullest.
There is so much more but this will do for now. On this Saturday let's all remember that we are still awaiting the end of the current restrictions and we are still seeing new cases and more deaths everyday. I hope we remember to keep up all the common sense precautions that have helped to keep this horrible situation from being far worse. Keep being patient, keep praying, be hopeful, cling to joy. And in all things, give all the honor and glory and praise to God.
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