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Lockdown

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing.

- Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13th 2020

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Home » Divine Compassion Today » Writer's Corner

More from Writers' Corner

How Will We Find Our Way Home cover.

How Will We Find Our Way Home

Inspired by something her dear friend asked Sr. Alice the day before she passed away, the book is a collection of Sr. Alice’s poems written over a period of time, and often reflective of questions that creep into our ordinary lives as we make our way in the day’s challenging climate.

Tracing Thin Places

In the hustle and bustle of our lives we are often challenged to pause and discover “thin places.” As referred to by Celtic Christians, thin places are those rare locales where the veil between heaven and earth is lifted.

We Walk the Road Together.

We Walk the Road Together

Sr. Lori DeGiorgio’s We Walk the Road Together invites you deep into the hard experiences of people seeking a safe and more hopeful life in the United States. The photos of migrants’ poignant moments seem to mirror those of Jesus on his road to Calvary.

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