The Essentials

I went to adoration this week, Father placed the tabernacle on a window facing out so that the public could come be in the presence of God from the safety of their cars.  As I sat looking at Him I realized how important it is to have a tangible presence - a refuge to run to in times of trouble.  Beyond the Sacraments I have been missing my freedom to run to the nearest parish and just sit in a pew comforted by God in the midst of us.  I have other friends who have mental disabilities and the quarantine without our usual church treatment is taking its toll on us.  Am perplex that churches are not in the essential category since so many of us depend on their services to stay healthy.  I have a friend who had a mental breakdown from the stresses of working from home and not having the church groups that normally support the well-being of others to help her through it.

Not by bread only lives the man, we are spiritual people that require spiritual sustenance.  While I have been trying to get my nourishment from the various virtual transmissions our Church leaders are putting out, I miss not being able to leave my home to sit in the silence of a pew and just look at Him and allow His presence to fill my whole.  I miss my bible study groups because even though I have attended some of my women’s groups virtually- the screen makes it impersonal.  There’s this connection that gets lost thru the screen, so when Father had this brilliant idea of placing Jesus in a place we can run to and not be barricaded behind a computer screen is such an exceptional blessing!

I am bipolar and I have been trying really hard to stay positive.  My job is super stressful – it feels like I started a new job the day I went virtual because I had to learn how to do my job in an entirely different platform.  Next week I have to give state testing to all my kids and that’s going to be quite a challenge, in addition to holding end of the year parent conferences online… This week we received the news that the plan is to work remotely until the end of August and that almost pushed me off the edge.  Am not sure how summer school will work out, but it all looks virtually bleak… Yet, what kept me hopeful and intact was being able to run to Jesus in the parking lot of my parish and just sit with Him.  We are all making sacrifices and it hurts in the process – but our Church is really trying to help us through it even when our government officials have erroneously deemed them unessential.  For me as many I know there’s nothing more essential than our Catholic Church especially during hardships!