Flocknote reflection - 6 January 2020

       I saw this photo on one of the pilgrimage websites that I visit. January 1 inaugurated a special holy year for the pilgrimage of St James in Spain. The doors of the special holy door have been opened for this occasion.  The renovations of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in Spain that have taken more than 10 years are finished.  But, all the pilgrims who were hoping to go on pilgrimage in Spain have their trips on hold.  We don't even know if it will be able to go this year at all.  It is very disheartening and discouraging, for I certainly want to be on pilgrimage, to energize my soul in that way.   

         I know that the reality of the pandemic is very challenging and very frustrating at times.  There is so much we cannot do right now in the way we have done things previously.  We cannot have a lot of things in the Church the way we've used to have things.  In fact, we cannot do almost everything the way we've done them previously.  I have parishioners and friends in nursing homes and retirement centers that I have not visited since March because such visits are not allowed.  Many of the conferences and mission appeal trips and other such things that I had scheduled prior to the pandemic have not occurred in-person.  We even had to do our priests retreat this year, which is required by canon law for all priests, through ZOOM.  We cannot do the sacraments in the Church we way we used to do them.  The Vatican has even approved a virtual anointing of the sick before someone dies, since most priests are not allowed to visit COVID- 19 patients in the hospital in-person.  I spoke to the liturgy coordinator of the Diocese yesterday about how we are going to approach Ash Wednesday, thinking about creative ways to distribute ashes that are liturgically acceptable and safe.  

       

         We live in a harsh reality where nothing is the same.  But we also need to concentrate on what we can do.  We might not be able to do things the way we have done them in the past and the way we want to do them, but there are options and there are ways to be creative.  The choices we have before us are not perfect.  But we need to thank the Lord for our blessings.  To put one foot in front of the other and to continue on our journey.  I could sit back as a priest and feel sorry for myself, for the ways I cannot engage in ministry in the midst of the pandemic. We could all sit back in complacency, complaining about our reality and complaining about what we cannot do.  But, what I am trying to do as a priest is to open my heart to the ways God is calling me to ministry in our current lived reality.  We need to continue on our journey, to put one foot in front of the other.