Quarantine Gifts

I don't know about you, but the new normal way of life is strange. Wearing a mask is uncomfortable especially in the humid Maryland summer. I never knew my nose could sweat! And the ambiance in the tri-state area is pretty heavy. Masks everywhere, statues getting pulled down here, and tossed into the Chesapeake Bay there, moral codes pointing in different directions and to top it all off we have had thunderous storms roar overhead each night for the past few days. This morning I saw a little chimpmunk, he froze as he looked at me and dove into a water pipe trembling in fear....He probably went to put his facemask on.

In the midst of all of this frenzy a few thoughts have come to mind during my morning prayer walks: isn't this a gift? Think about it, we have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime. We have never experienced a worldwide pandemic that has shutdown all countries, economies and worship like this one. Within the United States in my lifetime I have never seen so many marches, and racial tension either. I am sure this happened centuries past with the Native American's trail of tears and the tearing down of Aztec temples, churches burned, people bullied or killed because of race or faith but this is the first I have seen in my lifetime. Isn't this all a gift? If we just live through this moment in our lives without seeing the importance of it for each of us, then we risk missing something radically special.

There is something really special happening to each of us. We just have to pause and look for it.

For example, we are all being given a pause in time to take a step back from the normal pace that our previous self's were. What do you see? You didn't go to the hospital and die from Covid. We could have died, and we didn't. We still can die, but we are alive for right now. Isn't that a gift? What chance are we being given for change as a result of this experience?

An opportunity for change....to be nicer.

I am excited about the gifts I see for me from this experience. I am going to lay a few out, not all as I want to keep some for myself.

The Gifts I See

1. Time: The clock is ticking now and will be ticking when you read this, time is passing and we are given this element of time to do something good, to strive to use virtues. We are all meant to live to be genuinely good. Wasting time as we inch closer to death is not what we are meant to do. God created each of us with love and to live that love in our actions. Yes, the day only has 24 hours for each of us (Einstein included had only 24 hours) but how we use time as an element is a huge gift. People who died suddenly don't have that gift anymore. They no longer can look at time and use it for good. Why are we given this gift of time? To love. We are each lovely people and meant to be alive fully and with purpose and dignity in each moment. How can we better use time? It will all be gone one day very soon, for life is short. Don't be afraid to be brave and try something new with time. Set the timer for 10-15 minutes and do something out of the ordinary that you always wanted to do. That 10-15 minutes will feel very long. Not sure where to start? Set the timer and make a list. Once the timer ends, start another timer and do one thing on that list!

A Greek student from the time of Pompeii working on her list. She is still thinking about what to do, but at least we have the picture left, though she be gone.

2. Less stuff: Was it just me or was it easy to get along with less during quarantine? I found many uses for potatoes, noticed that I had a few too many clothes for work, and recognized that I focused better at my home office when the desk was cleared and I had just a notebook and a few good pens (and a cat, of course). Less stuff is a gift. Being able to live in a more simple way is a gift because it circles and pours gifts into other gift containers: gift of time in less shopping, gift of funds in less spending, gift of environment in not consuming things that use energy that hurt the atmosphere, etc. We were able to do with less, let's keep this gift!

Funny thing how museums are not cluttered... We appreciate art better without piles of  dusty very important documents explaining what they are.

3. Life: Oh my goodness, the gift of life! Isn't it great to be alive? I don't know about you, but I appreciate not being dead right now. We could be dead and we are alive. One day we will all be dead and grey but right now, I have a pep in my step. Life is so special. I am also very excited about life as our pastor, Father Dan, went to become the chaplain at World Villages of Children. He arrived two days ago to be welcomed with this.

That's right! This compound of 3,000 students has totally avoided the Corona virus by being self-sustained and closed off to outsiders for safety. No facemasks for these happy gals. Father Dan will be put into isolation for a while till he's cleared.

 The life and abundance of joy the children have there is incredible. While the news here has been dismal, I have been super uplifted seeing how life is being poured into children who come from destitute situations and they are given a fantastic education, local job training to break the cycle of poverty and love of God from the Sisters of Mary. Father Dan is giving his time, his stuff and his life to be the chaplain to children in 7 nations, 20,000 in all. What a gift of life he and the sisters are giving to them and to society through them! They make 60,000 meals per day. That's a lot of food...

This x 60,000 each day.

If you want to be a part of this incredible education mission and support these beautiful children, donate here or keep them on your prayer list, or both!

He is so precious and such a gift! He will be given an education through highschool, safe home with the sisters, blessings and sacraments from Father Dan, healthy meals and job training.

4. Loving Others:  I have been looking at my neighbors with more love these days. They all come from different backgrounds and our neighborhood often resembles the United Nations. But we have one thing in common: we all got quarantined at the same time! Quarantine put us on the same page. I have been thinking of what it means to be a child of God, a Father who is gentle and loving. If I look at each of my neighbors and people I pass and think of them as my brothers and sisters, I love them more and am willing to do more for them. There is a difference between someone paid by a non-profit to help someone, and a brother or sister who help you because they love you. One will get a paycheck and if they don't get paid then they quit. A brother or sister who love you will sustain you out of love in different ways other than financially: they will pray for you, listen to you and be present when you talk. Other people are alive, it is a beautiful thing. Tiny babies are alive in their mothers womb, that is a beautiful thing. We are all being given the gift of each other because we are still alive.

5: Jesus in the Eucharist: He's there. He's with us. People often go in search of miracles with relics, but there is One who is present at each mass and isn't a relic, it's actually Him. The mystery of Jesus really living and breathing in the Eucharist is such a gift. We couldn't go to mass for months. We couldn't receive the Eucharist for months. Now that we can, how do we see Jesus differently? Do we see Jesus differently? How can we present ourselves in a state of purity to receive the most loving and most pure who waited for us with ardent love these last few months? When children are taken away from a father who loves them with his whole heart, the father grieves. When a father is taken away from his children, they grieve. When children and father are reunited after being forced apart, there is joy and a love that is shared unlike any other love. Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. He isn't in the past, He isn't in the sky, He isn't unaware of what you really think or really feel. He is there in each molecule of each host of the Eucharist. What a gift. How can we love the biggest gift and cherish receiving Him even more than our family heirlooms or most valued possession? If you are Catholic, how do you approach Him to receive Him? How do you prepare your mind and body to honor Him? He is more precious than any gift, more than the Hope Diamond, more than the most lavish palace and He is veiled in each tiny host after consecration.

Padre Pio would spend hours after consecration talking to Jesus present in the Eucharist. Don't just walk away and get on with things after receiving Him. Spend some time talking to Him. 

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated in an empty church in Italy.

This gift of time away, did it change how we think of the time we have left in life? Did it change how we value our life and the lives of others? Did it change how we honor and give reverence to Christ's real presence in the Eucharist? He gave us all the gifts we have. Every good thing is of the Father. We are being given a supernatural gift in this quarantine experience to examen our life and make edits. We don't have to examen it nor have to make edits, but it would be a pity if we threw any gifts away. It would be like throwing plastic in the ocean. Too many gifts overlooked. Pause and see the wonder of what quarantine has given to us and is asking each of us to do differently.

See your gifts. Take your time. Then act. Every little action done in love changes the world.