Guidance rather than opinions

 We can feel like sheep with too many shepherds at times. Many peoples give us their opinions about the pandemic and the best way to respond. We seem to be scattered and isolated from each other in seeking to find good pastures. In Greater Sydney as in other parts of Australia, we are finding it difficult to make sense of a way out of this crisis. People seek to be vaccinated, get tested, and stay at home. We are called to do the "right thing" and I feel that the majority respond positively to the health restrictions and seek to safeguard each other. Yet it is at times like this when we seem to be in a valley of darkness that we are called to find the right path.

Like many, there is a limit to how many sitcoms you can watch before becoming dulled to a medium that seems banal. We can notice how our routines become affected by the daily bulletins which bring up fresh exposure sites and seem to further restrict our movements. We can become overwhelmed by facts and by seeking to comply with the daily updates. Our nerves can start to become frayed at the edges and we long for a time when the restrictions may end. We notice the many different opinions of people who stand on the sidelines shouting doom and gloom rather than providing hope and encouragement.

The question is how can we be a Christian community when we cannot  be in Churches to pray, support, and provide outreach to others. There is a limit to the watching of Mass over zoom which turns us into spectators rather than participants. I believe that this a time when we do need to find a creative response that does see how the Eucharist is at the centre of our life. There is a call placed on our hearts to engage in the prayer which deeply engages with the Word of Life. In many ways, I believe it is through engaging with the Liturgy of the Word on a daily basis and seek to find the word we are called to live each day. Undertaking Lectio Divina allows us to become soaked in the word spoken to us. To allow it to speak to our minds, our hearts and our bodies. It may be this way of prayer that can hold us together either as households or in personal sharing groups. I believe that such a practice will immerse more deeply in the Word and enrich our participation in the Mass. It will feed our souls and help us to be at home with God.

Out of these moments, we may also find the word that we are called to live for the day. Our attention is focused on words that bring life and guide us to a living of the good news even in times of darkness. It opens our hearts to new possibilities where we listen to what God is seeking in our own time.