Last weekend the Times had an opinion piece by Tish Harrison Warren, an Episcopal priest, on Covid fatigue, the fizzling of much of our inner strength now that we are going through Covid Round 2, as she called it. We are certainly tired of masking, worrying whether we need to quarantine because someone we had contact with has Covid.
As she knows this fatigue spills over into our daily lives and we respond either in anger, like parents at a school board meeting who have to be restrained by police or collapse in resignation. We had hoped to get back to our previous meals post worship discussing everything from Genesis to Revelations and then some, but we can’t yet.
We are not happy, to say the least. We had hoped that “everything,” whatever that is, would return to the pre-pandemic “normal,” but this virus and all its variants are not letting go. The letters of Galileo’s daughter Virginia, who took the name Suor Maria Celeste in the Convent of San Matteo, reflect one way of facing constant uncertainty in life, namely by loving and caring. We should do the same.
Prayer for the Day
Often fearful, we do not trust in your grace; O God,
For pain and illness bursts into our lives and we know not what to do.
Our friends and family suffer and we know not what to say,
Feeling helpless because we rely on our own strength alone.
Help us to feel your presence, O God, in such times
So we may be truly present to each other.
In the name of the One who is your presence in our lives,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.
T.F. Hodge, Los Angeles writer, former CFO Los Angeles School District
And I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone, or breaking down in tears. Some days the small victories are all you achieve
Molly Ringle, American popular writer, from Relatively Honest
To you, O God, I lift up my heart, in you, O God, I trust. Let me not be shamed.
Yes, let all who hope in you be not shamed. Let the treacherous be shamed.
Your ways, O Lord, inform me, your paths instruct me.
Lead me in your truth and instruct me, for you are the God of my rescue.
In you do I hope every day.
Psalm 25: 1-5 (Trans. Robert Alter)