PERHAPS YOU MAY HAVE A truly happy New Year now with the promise of a vaccine that will control the coronavirus for many if not all of us. I understand that it will still take time to vaccinate so many millions of us during this new year, but at least we have a sense of life returning to some kind of normal. I hope and pray that we take time during this new year to ask ourselves some serious questions about just what kind of “normal” we are looking forward to developing for ourselves, our families, our society, and our world. Perhaps you have already been doing so for yourself and your family, and I would suggest that you participate in planning the new normal at other levels that affect your life and the lives of others.
The quotation from Matthew 11:28-29 has been a source of comfort for me in my own life when I have faced some difficult times of illness, loss of loved ones, and other challenges. It brings me to a deeper level of acceptance and consolation and reminds me that I am not in charge, I am not in control, and I just need to be open to whatever comes my way. I still need to be aware of what is going on around me, and I still need to set goals and have plans for my life, but I am not really the one who sees that everything happens according to my plans.
I do believe that God is the Creator of the universe and everything happens in God’s own time and according to God’s plan. If our plans happen to coincide, that pleases me, and if not, God’s plan often works out better than anything I could dream up. That’s what I believe, and it’s worked out well for me. May you find rest for your soul in whatever way you are most comfortable.
I found it interesting that the words of wisdom from Thomas Moore quoted above, came from an article written in 2002 after the trauma experienced by us on September 11, 2001. As I read the article, I felt that it had been written today for our current situation due to the trauma we have experienced worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic. I think we still need to reflect on what changes we will make as individuals and for the common good as well as for the planet.
We seem to be facing many of the same social issues now as we did almost 20 years ago, and I wonder how much longer we will continue this struggle for equality, freedom, compassion, justice, and peace. Where will we go from here? Are we at a crossroad? Will we simply move back to where we were a year ago or will we see our way out of these issues and deal with them with a sense of unity and cohesion, a realization that we are really all in this together and that working for common goals is life giving and a way to become a people who can be trusted to do the right thing for everyone, not just for ourselves.
Our wounds are deep. We need to continue to ask the deep questions and work toward the answers even though we may not see everything change to out liking or in our lifetime.
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org.
Come to me, all you that labor and
are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke on you, and learn of
me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and you shall find rest for your
souls.
+Matthew 11: 28-29
Now is also a time to reflect on
what really matters
and to reconsider how we live.
As a society and as individuals, we
need to ask ourselves
what changes we need to make.
Many people have drawn closer to
home, family, friends.
We also need to look at how we
relate to nature,
how we use energy, how we
educate our children
and deal with racial problems.
These are spiritual issues and
they’re all connected.
When the wound is deep,
the questions have to be deep.
+Thomas Moore, psychotherapist, 2002
