Peace be with you

Life these past few months has been very different than what I am used to. If someone had asked me at the beginning of the year how I expected 2020 to play out, of all the scenarios that I could imagine, never would I have mentioned anything about quarantine. The phrase "social distancing" would not have come up in that conversation.

When I speak to people about what's going on I get the sense that there is no small amount of fear rolled into these past few months - and not without good reason. There is something to be feared; especially if you are in one of the high risk groups or are close to someone that is.

So here we are locked away from others for fear of something that we have no control over and the harm it can inflict. (Read this weeks Gospel here) Oddly, this is one of those kinds of situations that our Lord makes Himself known to us. He comes in when the doors are locked, because barriers are no obstacle for Jesus. He says to us "Peace be with you" in spite of the conditions that instill fear in us - He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and He sends us out into the world.

Even when we are prevented from being with one another, He is among us, and we are in relationship.

Soon, we will begin to emerge from this isolation. Slowly, we will attempt to regain some sense of normalcy. Surely, when that happens, things will be different - and it may take some time before we won't have to stand in lines keeping sure to remain six feet apart from each other just to buy a roll of toilet paper. But perhaps we ourselves will be different too; perhaps we ought to be a little different.

May the Lord come to you in this time of isolation and bless you; may you feel His peace descend upon you and yours, and may we - each of us - go forth from this place of isolation and be what we are called to be: The Church, filled with the Holy Spirit.

                                            + Theophilus