Faith in a time of quarantine

Like you, I have been following the news about the Corona virus and the destruction in its wake. I'm fortunate to live in an area that is out of the hot spots, though I'm not unaffected by the virus. My community, the Felician Sisters, has been touched directly by it. Some of our sisters in the United States are sick with it or have died from its influence on their preexisting conditions. The sisters in the convent I live in are well, thank God.

During this time, I have drawn closer to my community and family. I've never been good at staying in touch; I generally avoid talking on the phone. Now I am eager to call family and friends, to connect with the community beyond my immediate convent. I'm filled with gratitude for the people in my life, for their love and support. I'm also grateful for my faith, for the trust that I have in God's loving-compassion and power. I realize that my belief helps me a great deal in this scary time.

Since the area of the country that I live in has been less impacted than others by the virus, we have been less restricted by it. Since early March, we've been sheltering in place. Honestly, the only change this meant for me was not going out to run errands or to my writer's group that meets every two weeks. I also had to cancel some travel plans. However, I live, work, and worship in the same place, and that stayed the same for weeks. The more vulnerable in the house were on quarantine, but we weren't. Recently that changed. Because of the sickness and death in our community, those of us who live in our large convents who had only been sheltering in place are now on lockdown.

This basically means two things: we can't gather as a group and need to stay in our bedrooms. We had been having daily Mass and eating together in the dining room, but no longer. We're being served in our rooms and though we're receiving Communion still, we have to experience Mass other ways. We can go outside, but can't leave our particular wing of the building. As I type this, it's only Day 1. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing!

The Corona virus impacts my plans; I'm not sure exactly how yet. Mostly it presses pause on them. I've been waiting for the new archive to be completed so I can move to Michigan. Actually, much has depended upon the archive! I couldn't make any summer plans until I had a timeline for this change in my ministry, so much was already up in the air. Now construction on the archive has been halted, and we can't make any plans until they've started up again.

I was getting ready to move before, but like everything else, it's paused. It's been frustrating, for sure. It's also a profound experience of being present, as I shift my focus to the people in my life and the moment at hand. I've been reminded of all the blessings in my life, and I've drawn closer to the Lord in prayer and reflection. God truly makes the best of any circumstance, if we place our lives in His hands!