The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
When will this be over? As my eyes scanned over countless Instagram posts about online Mass, lost jobs, and missed family and friends, it was hard not to feel like God had abandoned us. I felt like my efforts to stay hopeful were failing as the days went on. I prayed the same prayer everyday, Lord, where are you and when will this end?
Our lives were radically changed so quickly that it’s become hard to recall the last time we sat amongst our brothers and sisters at Mass, shared a laugh or took our time getting lost in Target. I've felt so disheartened as the days have gone by, wondering when these simple experiences will again be reality. As I was on my daily (pause The Office and get out of the house) quarantine walk, a thought came to my mind.
"He will not leave us. He is merciful and with us always."
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.” (John 14:18-20)
In these words I am reminded to take heart — God will never leave us. He is with us in our live-stream Masses. He is with us in our loneliness/isolation. He is with us in our fear. We are loved deeply by an ever-present God. As we move into the second month of quarantine, we pray, Lord, where are you in this mess?
The Lord is saying to us, I love you and am here with you always.
Take heart, friends.
Chenele Shaw is a former youth minister and theology teacher and a current young adult trying to live her life for Christ, frequent her therapist, and eat all the cheese! She desires to be her authentic self and help others to as well. You can find her watching reality tv, going to confession, and updating her Spotify playlists. Follow her on Instagram and say hey!