Yes, there is isolation.
Yes, there is panic buying.
Yes, there is sickness.
Yes, there is even death.
But, They say that in Wuhan, after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes.
But blue and gray and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares, keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of
Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number throughout the  neighborhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today people are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world, people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way.
All over the world, people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So, we pray, and we remember that
Yes, there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes, there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes, there is panic buying.
But there dos not have to be meanness.
Yes, there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes, there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen behind the factory noises of your panic.
The birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing.
Spring is coming.
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, Sing.
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13, 2020
With love and appreciation for our precious community.