The news is often a mixed bag of information, and some of it may not be all that informative. These days, one of the more significant notes that seem to jump off the headlines is the continued decline in Covid-19 and the hope that very soon we will be back to a post-Covid normal. This bit of information is welcome news! Each of us can point to what it will mean to finally be back – Church without space limitations, a vacation, a family gathering!
Of course, the same news item sends out words of caution, urging us not to be in too much of a hurry and certainly not be careless. These are words of prudence and wisdom. However, the good news remains, the decline in Covid-19 is real.
What does not seem to appear in the news is a word about God, except maybe in some dramatic statements and some dramatic and mistaken statements to boot. The pandemic has not been a punishment from God! Just a recall of the story of the prodigal son should be enough for us to recognize that God’s love is always divine mercy. Furthermore, the Cross of Christ, is the most absolute statement that God is not interested in punishment, in vengeance or any type of violence. God’s initiative is always to enter into our lives and become the transformative element that allows every death to become greater life and every moment of desperation to become hope.
All of us have come to know, in the most profound of ways, that God has been present throughout this long, long journey. A journey that has resembled the Way of the Cross, because it has been the Way of the Cross. He has carried the cross with us, has suffered with us, has died with us in the particular places of our own Calvary and now rises with us to new life. Even if the news does not mention God, I am sure that for all of us, the post-Covid normal will include the Lord.
The presence of the Lord at each moment of darkness and each renewed experience of hope, is the Good News that we are called always to proclaim. For the First Communion children, maybe the Good News might be about “lessons learned at catechism” and the anxiety of being quizzed about the prayers that have been memorized or how to properly receive the Eucharist. But, even for them, I hope that somewhere deep inside, they are catching at least a glimpse of the loving, saving, healing presence that is our Lord.
Especially this coming week, the first week of May, maybe we might look for ways to slow things down and allow a moment or two of mindfulness. We take a breath, say our prayers, come to Mass, look with loving kindness upon a child, and know that the Lord is present. Maybe Mother’s Day can also help. A moment or two of mindfulness, not about the lessons to be learned, or even lessons that need to be put into practice, but about the presence of the Lord.
Such a presence will always inspire peace and a prayer of thanksgiving. Long has the journey been, there is still a ways to go, but the Lord journeys with us.
Father Francisco Gómez, S.T.