Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”

Psalm 39 is full of poetic expressions of the shortness of life:

 

You have given me a short span of days;

my life is nothing in your sight.

A mere breath, the one who stood so firm;

a mere shadow, the one who passes by;

a mere breath, the hoarded riches -- and who will take them, no one knows....

In your house I am a passing guest -- a pilgrim, like all my forebears.

 

Before the Pandemic: “Those were the days, my friends, we thought they’d never end.”

 

The obituary for a much-loved physician offers guidance for us who are enduring this time of change, of necessary restrictions on our lives and actions as social beings.

 

Will we ever have a chance to do so much good? Will we ever be so helpfully positive to our fellow human beings, to others oppressed by present restrictions on human relations? We can encourage each other’s spirits by not pushing our bad moods, anger or boredom onto others.

 

We can keep up the spirits of those around us by our own hopeful spirit.

 

We do not want to waste these short lives in bad spirits, sorrow, cynicism, regret, recrimination, rivalry and complaining.

 

What positive can we do?

How about phone calls (FaceTime, etc.) to the isolated, lonely and forgotten. Even letters off the printer, or handwritten (in ink on paper!). (The latter will knock their socks off.)

 

We hear frequently of how accommodating and helpful this man or woman at the supermarket is. What a ministry! What a blessing for the tired and exasperated customer!

 

What about an extra phone call or a more patient one with someone alone who has no one else to talk to.

 

We can instill in our children a sense of compassion for others.

 

How about performing (by mail or anonymous delivery) some kindness for the less fortunate or for a neighbor? And with respect for their dignity.

 

With imagination we can discover other ways of serving and cheering others.

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!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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