Finding strength, courage and compassion during crisis
Opinion
With so much uncertainty in the world at the moment, SR JENNY SEAL fdnsc took the time on Easter Sunday to pen a reflection on the opportunity to bring the 'resurrection joy' into our lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
On this day of Resurrection, we bring to mind all the people of our world who need healing and peace at this time of the Corona Virus 19 pandemic. We pray for the ‘Resurrection’ in our world in a tangible way for all to experience. We pray for the healing of the earth and its people.
During these past days of reflection, we have journeyed with Jesus during his agony, death and resurrection – his passing from death to new life. Whether we are Christians or hold some other belief or non-belief, thousands of people have experienced this personal and communal journey in their own way – no one has been completely immune. We all share in the plight of each other near and far either physically in our body, emotionally, mentally and/or in our spirit. In the same way, we can all share in connection with each other either physically in our homes, emotionally, spiritually, through the wonders of technology, over the fence, as we take our walk on our own with a greeting to the walker on the other side of the road or by the peace we bring to the shop for emergency supplies.
Let us take the opportunity to bring the resurrection joy into our current worldwide crisis. Let us hold each other and pray, in whatever way is right for us, whatever creed or culture, that in the midst of this time we can find strength, courage and compassion.
Strength – to be a support to each other in grief and loss and to assist each other to ‘carry the cross’ like Simon of Cyrene did for Jesus and to ‘wipe the face’ of the other as Veronica did to Jesus. Let us thank God for the many ‘Simons and Veronicas’ in our life thus far and to not take them for granted.
Courage – to be of heart and to take heart; to grow as a person as we open ourselves to the current struggles. We are not perfect – we were not made that way. We all have our cracks and flaws but it is through these that the light can shine in and light can shine out to others in the midst of the darkness. We know that if we all take a step out of our usual comfort zone and ‘shine’, even just a little, we will have a brighter world.
Compassion – to grow in an understanding of others as we reflect upon our own vulnerabilities at this time. This can help us to get in touch with the vulnerabilities of those around us and who have struggled in one way or another for years. We remember these people and grow in compassion to assist them in whatever way we can and be in solidarity with the feelings and plight of others throughout the world – the homeless, the hungry, the isolated, the refugee, the prisoner, the poor, the disconnected, the new age slave, the addicted, the disenfranchised in any way and the neighbour we may not notice. We can allow this time, also, to be a time of solidarity and compassion for those who ‘appear’ to be travelling well but who interiorly aren’t as well as we think they may be.
At this time of physical distancing, let us metaphorically ‘hold’ each other in our hands and in our heart. Let us ‘hold’ all our emergency and critical workers in our hearts and hands as well as they with great strength, courage and compassion serve us so extraordinarily with great risk and cost to themselves and to their families. They are the ‘Simon’s’ and the ‘Veronica’s’ who help to alleviate pain and suffering in our world and particularly at this time of the Virus – for this we thank them and pray for their protection.
As we hear through technology and through the media, there has been a lot of solidarity among us all. It is heartening to the spirit to experience the world coming together in adversity and to know that we are all in this together. Let us remember the ‘all’ – those with a voice and those without.
Let us continue this after the pandemic. Whatever our creed or culture, let us continue to pray for and work towards the healing of the earth and its people.
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