Yesterday I wrote about being brave. And moving on from the coronavirus. I realize today that I've faced much worse than this "new normal" of the pandemic. I've experienced sheer terror, and I've suffered tremendous grief. Think about what you have already survived in this life, and remember Who is the fountain of your strength.
The media, scientists, and our government leaders have focused so much attention on this one disease that you would think there is nothing else out there. Every serious illness and health condition imaginable is only worsened by stress, and in fact very often has stress as its underlying culprit. Yet we are being encouraged to live in a constant state of panic as a way of staying healthy. This is not sane behavior.
What if you were to choose, just for today, to silence the cacophany? Go to the Lord in the silence of your heart. Go to Him until you can hear no other voice. Then listen. What is your vocation? What is He asking you to do? It may be as simple as hugging your spouse and children, preparing a meal, throwing a load of laundry in the wash. Walk the dogs. Write a poem. Reach out to someone who is sick, depressed, or lonely. Be of service.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." There is no other Way. There is no other Truth. There is no other Life. Our dignity and freedom as human beings come directly from Him, the one, true God in whose image and likeness we are gloriously made. We are free only because Our Lord overcame sin and death. If we don't know this, we know nothing.
We obey our leaders to the extent that they know and believe this Truth. We claim our freedom from Christ crucified and resurrected, not from the government. The USA was founded upon these self-evident truths. Our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness flow directly from our divine origins and the grace of God. This is why some, those who wish fervently for a socialist and communist regime, reject both our Constitution and Our Lord. They know that to uphold the one is to uphold the other. Freedom is tied directly to Faith.
Go in silence to pray. Pray without ceasing. When the boat rocks and the seas rage, look full in His wonderful face. That is all.
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Perhaps you are wondering, how can we move on from the coronavirus when it's still here? Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has emphasized that though the state's economy will begin to open back up this Friday, May 1, the danger of contracting the Wuhan virus is no less great. We must continue to use good, common sense, practice social distancing, and wear face masks. (One caveat to that, though. If you wear eyeglasses, they will fog up when wearing a face mask. I am personally not going around blind.)
As a person who has pre-existing health conditions that put me at higher risk, and for the good of others, I'm certainly not going to throw caution to the wind. At the same time, I want my life back, and a return to some semblance of normalcy is imperative to the health and well-being of all concerned.
Everywhere around the USA, we've seen examples of purely arbitrary and often tyrannical mandates from government officials; responses from law enforcement personnel that are abusive and unnecessary in the extreme; purely subjective declarations of what are "essential" businesses, products, and activities, and which are not; and a host of violations of constitutional rights. The cure shouldn't be worse than the disease, and it ought not result in suffering and death that is out of proportion to the threat of the virus. But that's exactly where we are at.
Most of us were willing, at first, to obey shelter-at-home mandates and to take COVID-19 seriously, and I believe it's still incumbent upon us to make the best decisions we can with the information we have, and to proceed with due caution. Yet I think it's time for each person, each family, and each business and institution to make their own decisions, to seize back our rights and liberty, even at the expense of legal or personal retribution.
As far as I'm concerned, no one has the right to tell you, for example, how many people you can have visiting in your own home, or how long you are allowed to be out-of-doors; or to be able to arrest you for taking your kids to the park, or for having church services or any other gatherings, as long as common sense precautions are taken. The draconian times must end. One step I'm personally going to take is to write the bishop of my diocese and implore him to reinstate public Masses and the reception of the sacraments.
People feel powerless right now, and fearful, and we are being taken advantage of by those who would wish to reshape the country as a socialist regime, and one which is specifically hostile to those of the Christian Faith. It's really NOT about your health.
In any situation, the place where we do have power is over ourselves. We can choose to not live in fear. We can choose to be brave. We can choose freedom. We can keep up high standards for hygiene and cleanliness, which we all should have had in the first place. We can decide what to let into our lives--what we read and listen to. If we have access to safe drinking water and healthy foods (which some do not, as a direct result of the poverty induced by the government shutdowns); if we go outside, mandates be damned, and get sunshine, fresh air, and exercise; if we begin to think for ourselves and act accordingly--then we will have made a good start to taking our lives back. This country was founded on a rebellion against tyrrany. Where there is injustice, by God, rebel! The virus may be here for a long time to come, but I, for one, am moving on.
