Wednesday, December 23, 2020

HOPE IN THE AGE OF COVID 19 ~ 31

 




Over the years an oft read series of books by J.J.R. Tolkien, in particular the Lord of the Rings series, have been a comfort in trying times, as well as the films of those books.

Tolkien, who as born in the late 19th century and lived into the seventh decade of the 20th century, endured through, along with millions of others, the First World War, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression, the Second World War and the threat of global nuclear war which brought the whole human family to a knife’s edge in 1962 with the Cuban Missile crisis, when for all of us alive at that time we endured for more than a month not knowing from one day to the next if war would be upon us. Unlike the title often given, more in hope than in fact, about the First World War, that it was the one which would end all wars, certainly a nuclear war would have been just such, and likely depopulated the earth at the same time.

Because of Tolkien’s life experiences the one quote of his, acted powerfully, spoken with intense feeling in the film version of THE TWO TOWERS, [1] is this: Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Today, in the shadows and darkness of this pandemic, many feel like Frodo, that this is too much to endure, this danger appears unending, weariness and discouragement are commonplace. Not everyone has a caring person to speak words of encouragement, not everyone has a Simon of Cyrene to help bear the cross of this pandemic in all its manifestations.

Everyone, believer or not, has the Holy Child Jesus, soon to be born anew among us, anew in the power and reality of Christmas. At the same time He has never left us, not a one of us, believer or not. For billions of Christians He dwells within us through Baptism, for non-believers He stands, tirelessly, at the door of their being, knocking at the door, asking permission – yes Jesus asks permission – to enter.

In the Roman Rite, in the Canon of the Mass, for eight days the Church proclaims THIS IS THE DAY! Not was but IS the day of Our Saviour’s birth.

In the depths of life on earth, in the collective and individual experience of this pandemic, in the midst of concentration and labour camps, on the fields of battle wherever there is civil war, in the tears and cries of the hungry, the homeless, in the midst of the caravans of refugees and immigrants, in the shadow-world of prisons, in hospitals, indeed in every human heart open to Him, He makes of such hearts His manger. At the door of every heart closed to Him Our Lady leaves Him at the door in a manger, waiting for the door to be open, the heart to welcome Him.

He is Love and born to love.

He is born in the depths of our fears, our discouragement, our need for courage to endure, our need for hope that this too will end and the light of a new day will dawn upon us.

He IS our hope, our light, our new day.

 

 

1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Two_Towers

 

© 2020 Fr. Arthur Joseph

 


Monday, December 14, 2020

HOPE IN THE AGE OF COVID 19 ~ 30

 

 Praying, for our entire human family that the very thick fog of this pandemic war, for fundamentally this is spiritual warfare, be dissipated by all Christ’s luminous beauty, His radiant Truth, His healing love, that we will invite Him to shine again in our hearts, filling our beings with His gifts of healing, peace, hope, it is well to also recall the instruction of St. Peter:

…..humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon Him because He cares for you. Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To Him be dominion forever. Amen. [1Pt. 5:6-11]

Each moment of our personal life, the lives of those we love, the lives of every human being are gift, Love’s gift to us. This gift is so precious we can only know ourselves and others, through His gift to us of His Son who is always with us. Only in Christ can we if not understand all that happens in life, at least be able to persevere if we stand in the Light of Christ, with Him who helps us embrace all that the Heavenly Father permits, including this pandemic, for our ever-deeper union with Christ, who suffered and died for us, as the means by which the Holy Spirit comes to sanctify us.

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. [Mk. 12:17]   Right now Caesar/governments are in various ways trying to protect public health and precisely because of those ways many people are angry and resisting. Loud voices stress infringement of human rights, which is a critical and moral thing to do, yet in the clamour we hear little about concurrent human responsibilities for the good of one another.

Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person. They will dispense justice humanely by respecting the rights of everyone, especially of families and the disadvantaged. The political rights attached to citizenship can and should be granted according to the requirements of the common good. They cannot be suspended by public authorities without legitimate and proportionate reasons. Political rights are meant to be exercised for the common good of the nation and the human community. Those subject to authority should regard those in authority as representatives of God, who has made them stewards of his gifts: "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution.... Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God." Their loyal collaboration includes the right, and at times the duty, to voice their just criticisms of that which seems harmful to the dignity of persons and to the good of the community. It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. the love and service of one's country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community. [1]

We are on the front lines of the current spiritual warfare, a major stressor as we try and navigate between protecting our own health and that of our families and community writ large yet not remaining silent and complicit as governments abrogate more of our rights to simultaneously grant themselves more and more power over the people.

There was a time when many young Christians would wear a bracelet with WWJD on it: what would Jesus to? In this pandemic:


Here Jesus is wearing a mask. [2] Why would He do this? This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [Jn.15:12,13]

No doubt rather than focus on the point being made with the icon of Jesus showing Him masked, many will simply choose to react negatively because choosing always, or at least struggling to so choose what Jesus would do can be burdensome, frustrating, irritating and, frankly, embracing the Cross with Him, carrying our cross with Him is no easy task but is an act of love and fidelity and an intercessory offering for all our brothers and sisters.

Love Himself creates us gifting us with breath of life, with among His many gifts that of our free will.

Embracing freedom in accord with His Holy Will, clearly before us in the Ten Commandments, the Great Commandment and all teachings of Jesus, at times is akin to life as a juggler, or worse as a tight rope walker with poor balance!

God is present with us. This is an irrefutable fact. We, of course, are free to accept His loving presence and help, nonetheless He assures us: ….I chose you, I have not rejected you—Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. [Is.41:9,10]

When the Black Death, in the late Middle Ages, devastated the population of much of Eurasia the estimate is that bacteria infection took between 75,000,000 to 200,000,000 lives, more than the estimated Spanish Flu, a virus, deaths of the last century, 50,000,000 deaths. In the aftermath of the pandemic the feudal society of Europe in the first instance, and modern states, due to a combination of WWI and the pandemic, caused major shifts in matters of religion, politics, economics etc.

Such shifts are already emerging in our own day and already showing serious cracks in pre-covid society.

History also records during both the Black Death and the Spanish flu information was both accurate and in accurate, conspiracy theories were rife making discerning between objective-factual truth and fearmongering speculation, if not outright lies, nearly impossible. In this pandemic, finding objective truth, avoiding the quicksand of conspiracy theories and their attendant tar pit of anger and fear, is a tremendous challenge and cause of immense and unnecessary stress. With today’s modern media and the internet finding the objective truth about the pandemic, vaccines, etc., etc., makes finding a needle in a haystack child’s play.

More than ever we need the help of the Holy Spirit and His gift of discernment and deep union with Christ who tells us: “If you remain in My word, you will truly be My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [Jn.8: 31,32] Jesus Himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life, as He says of Himself [Jn.14:6], only when we are Christ-centered will we have the spiritual, intellectual, emotional stamina to live and travel through this pandemic amidst the cacophony of voices clamouring for our attention, all claiming to have the truth about everything. Such a claim, of course, comes from the father of lies, the great deceiver and disrupter.

The more time we spend listening to media reports about the present global surge of infections and deaths, the more time we spend trolling the internet for voices that agree with our own, be we accepting it is a pandemic or not, the more stressed, angry, hopeless we become with what limits or interferes with our ability to accept what we cannot control and surrender to what is the permissive will of God.

As a human family we need to face this pandemic today, without wasting time challenging those who agree with us or not but having love for all to work together to get through this, accepting the fact as with any major social upheaval of any kind, no one individual has the whole picture and that the history of these days will be written decades hence. We are in the fog and quagmire, the stress and seeming unending of this. As human beings we need each other more than ever.

Now is not the time for arguments about the construction of the Titanic or whose responsible for the iceberg, whether or not she is actually sinking but to get into the boats and row.

Together.

……..during these months of pandemic, when we experienced, amid the crisis, how “our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines, or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone… How many people daily exercise patience and offer hope, taking care to spread not panic, but shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday ways, how to accept and deal with a crisis by adjusting their routines, looking ahead and encouraging the practice of prayer. How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all”. Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all. [3]

Decades ago psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross developed a theory on the stages of grief when we lose a loved one: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and in the end acceptance.

In terms of a beloved human being: grandparent, parent, spouse, child, millions of our brothers and sisters around the world already, and in the foreseeable future, have suffered, will suffer such pain-loss.

Either denied or being struggled with, the reality of a profound sense of loss impacts everyone in this pandemic for we have lost the normal of daily life, including the normal of communal worship, family gatherings were no one is excluded, the camaraderie of going to work with others, etc., etc., hence it is no surprise many, many people are in denial about many aspects of the pandemic and angry about it, the restrictions imposed by health officials etc. and the spike in people seeking help for depression, stress, anxiety is ongoing.

Among the faculties we are gifted with when Love Himself creates us, along with free will are: intellect, imagination, memory, all connected to our ability to dream.

How we use each of those gifts, -  in this time of war, war to defeat the virus, war to defeat satan and his minions who are taking advantage of the virus in their hatred to attack us, to weaken faith, love, hope, trust, -  is critical.

The Desert Fathers considered the imagination to be a bridge of the devils.

If, through any forms of modern media, prolonged conversations with people who are constantly angry about everything, or who are blamers of God for what is happening, if such preoccupies us, then we urgently need to use our intelligence to call to mind the truth: we are Beloved Children of the Father, Beloved Disciples of Christ, Beloved Temples of the Holy Spirit. Not doing so becomes the bridge of satan into our minds, will, soul.

People are pre-occupied with all aspects of this pandemic, the fracturing of society, many spending more time thinking about such things than having quiet, loving time with family, with Sacred Scripture, with prayer, all things which bring peace to mind, heart, soul, that peace which affirms hope is greater than any virus, love more powerful than the chaos of these days.

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [Eph. 6: 11-7]

This far north currently we get barely seven hours of day light, the rest is the darkness of night, eased only, on clear nights, by the moon and the stars. The weight of the darkness of the pandemic, which these many months is twenty-four seven and ongoing, can only be lightened by the hope and trust we have in Christ, soon to be born anew among us in the manger of the cave – caves have no doors so all may enter believer or not, rich or poor, holy or not – as Our Blessed Mother not only places the Holy Newborn in the manger but, if we are willing to open the door of our being, She places Him also in the manger of our hearts.

We should now, and not wait until Christmas, trust He is within us and gaze into His eyes.

What we see is Love Himself, Light Himself, Life Himself, Truth Himself, who comes as our way to the Father and gifts us with the Holy Spirit.

He is vulnerable that we might not be alone in our vulnerability, He is mercy that we are not fearful.

Like all little ones He kicks His feet and waves his arms beckoning, as His smile illuminates the entire universe while being focused on us because we are His joy.

He has come to meet us.

The light and joy flowing from His eyes heals, strengthens, comforts, vivifies and His Heart beats powerfully with the fire of His love for us telling us with each beat we are beloved and not to be afraid for He is our hope.

 

1] Teaching on the 4th Commandment:

https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7W.HTM

2] https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=lOJAc0Ht&id=893C87B29BA404C04882B9E1C483947684B4C063&thid=OIP.lOJAc0HtZfneaufQrKJUwwHaE8&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fusercontent2.hubstatic.com%2f15034555_f520.jpg&exph=347&expw=520&q=jesus+wearing+a+mask&simid=608012093674097613&ck=7F7C1D34E010D0B248FCA1A8B9CCC932&selectedIndex=3&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0

3] http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html

 

 

© 2020 Fr. Arthur Joseph