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

As I worked on this it was around 9 months since the horror (my preferred word) of domination over our lives by Covid-19 began. 

Friend Elisabeth was thinking along parallel lines when she wrote this. “9 months!! This time has come and gone. The only other times in my life I’ve thought in terms of 9 month increments were 5 in number. Awaiting and welcoming a beautiful creation, a baby boy.  Always a boy! I didn’t even know ‘they’ made girls!”

About the same time and as the Governor was shutting down our state (Minnesota) due to resurgence of the virus, Dr Patricia Murphy, a former public school principal, published this on Linkedin. “Coaches, teachers, parents, administrators: Now is the time to remind young people (athletes especially) that life is tough and things don’t always turn out the way we expected (or hoped)! Teach them about taking care of others, about disappointment, about science, about responsibility, about virus spread and community*, about patience, about crisis management, about life!” *Another way of putting this would be the ‘common good’, a reminder that being vaccinated helps save the health and lives of our fellow human beings.

The Apostle Paul probably was not thinking about our 9 month-and-holding oppression by the virus. But he did urge on us receptivity to and the practice of the 9 fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) for the common good. They are: 1. Love 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Patience 5. Kindness 6. Goodness 7. Faithfulness 8. Gentleness 9. Self-Control.

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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