Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - March 19, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
In this part of the world a major snowfall in March is not all that improbable. And, in itself, it's beautiful; the trees, the firs especially, are mantled in snow; the whole landscape is a clean, dazzling white. Old snow that had that dirty look is "freshened". I comment to some students on how beautiful it is. Their response indicates they think I'm being sarcastic or that I haven't looked at the calendar in a long while. They're expecting spring; they may have returned from spring break in some sunny clime . . . or just waiting, hoping for spring. Or, if they are seniors, their chief concern is what happens after graduation, a job or grad school. For such reasons they have no time to regard a March snowfall as beautiful! A snowfall is an unwelcome interruption of their dreams and hopes, a postponement of spring.
A good snowstorm can make for class cancellations, always welcome! Inversely, snow and ice in this part of the country make themselves very unwelcome when driving and even walking become treacherous. The snow might be beautiful, but it also brings its dangers. Much of life is this way. Delight and terror can be very close.
Reality has many facets; it affects people in many different ways. “One person's meat is another's poison” went the old truism. Everything we see or experience is colored for us by our own perspective, our own situation. A more thoroughgoing selflessness would remind us of that more often when we're tempted to pass on our own certitudes to others or ignore their contrary perception or emotional difficulties. A year or two ago the siege of our world began with Covid-19. The volatility of the virus has made us question, almost daily, our certainties and “normal” practices. We pray for an end.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
