Fr. Don's Daily Reflection
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
For your encouragement or possibly even inspiration: What a range of my correspondents are doing during or despite this awful period.
Fourth grade teacher Eve writes about engaging other members of the family in the care of a 101-year-old grandmother. “Seth’s sister who lives nearby cannot help out because both of her sons (20 and 21 years of age) have Covid-19. . .. It makes me a bit sad and apprehensive that she is losing her will to live.” If anyone can turn Grandma’s attitude around it’s Eve whose ideal and practice is constant thankfulness.
Sam, in his mid-thirties, has a very rare disease which destroys the neurological system. It has reached the point where he receives nourishment through a tube in his stomach. In early August he says that “we were able to get together with some friends, our first time in months, because we could sit out on our patio and be socially distanced. . .. I have voted absentee for the primary. For the first time we could request absentee ballots for both the primary and the November election at the same time.”
Ben from Iowa writes “Flo and I live in anxiety, uncertainty and sadness. We miss being able to go to Mass at our church, I miss the Eucharist. My prayer is always a plea to God for an end to this plague. And I often scold him for his slow response.”
Dave and wife Lois, sequestered at a well-furnished cabin in Montana, say it’s been the most relaxed time of their lives. “We have read 22 books between us. One of them, Michael Massing’s Fatal Discord, centers om the contrast between Martin Luther and Erasmus and is one of the best books I have ever read.” Back in Minneapolis he and family visited the site were George Floyd was killed. “I was surprised by how moved I was. It was very quiet and somber, like being in church.”
In the first decade of her second century, Jen writes: “It was wonderful to hear from you, your letter came when I really needed cheering up.” She still seems lonely amid comfortable surroundings. “I have a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and bath and very good meals are furnished. They bring the meal to my room and I eat alone. My children seem to be doing well; no one is in jail. Two of my daughters have died of cancer. No stopping that awful disease.”
Ted, an expert tennis player in his day, has been dealing with cancer for several years. But that hasn’t diminished his ardor for watching football. He writes: “Soon students will return to school. I pray that everything works out. I don’t like the idea of in person classes, but time will tell. Our education system is falling behind every year and this doesn’t help.”
Greg writes of meeting me 50 years ago at the University. (I must have been in day care.) He says: “I stay in contact with some of my ‘72 classmates: Gary, Dick, Paul and Mike. The latter has Lewy Body dementia and lives in a nursing home . . . I have been participating in a monthly Zoom call led by DH where we talk about things of ‘ultimate concern’. The group spans a wide range of ages.”
Jed was recently deployed for the ninth time, this time to Afghanistan. His two sons are attending a Catholic university. His approach to them is a stellar example of parental wisdom. He writes: “Thanks for the prayers. You are in mine every day. Still working on the boys and getting them to want to go to Mass rather than feeling like it is a chore. We’ve made some progress, but these young adults need to make some discoveries on their own; all we can do is guide them and hope/pray they make good decisions.”
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!”
