Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - May 6, 2022
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
E. B. White, probably in his prime in 100 years ago, is still worth discovering for his style. He writes: “I arise in the morning, torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor (enjoy) the world. That makes it hard to plan the day.” Even at this late date, the quotation still has some relevance.
Facing the sameness of stay-at-home restrictions, we dreamed of liberation from this when we could savor life as we knew it: going out to dinner, to a play or a ballgame, or simply for a drink or coffee with a good friend. Ah-h-h.
Or we may be thinking of how to improve the world. Life and thinking undoubtedly have been impacted profoundly by this huge and painful interruption.
Is this new world “better”? Like E.B. White, improving the world seems what most imagine; the normal should be more equitable than what we remember. Peace for all nations; no exceptions.
As seems appropriate, let us hear the most respected spokesperson for the Christian tradition, e.g., Francis, the Bishop of Rome. There we find compassion for the unemployed, the homeless and disabled, that this neighborliness will soften the hard edges of the world's economics. He says: "I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth not ruled by it.”
And Francis spells this out: a living wage for unskilled workers, welcoming immigrants and refugees, overcoming racism, care for the earth, diminishing wealth inequality, peaceful conflict resolution, education and health care for all, etc.
The head of a metropolitan Catholic Charities says: “I have read your Reflections faithfully. I hope and pray that soon your Reflections will be of gratitude for being on the other side of this, with a new world better than the former.”
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!”
