From a letter of St. Paul to the Church at Thessalonica:
But as touching the charity of brotherhood, we have no need to write to you: for yourselves have learned of God to love one another.
For indeed you do it towards all the brethren in Macedonia. But we entreat you, brethren, that you abound more:
And that you use your endeavor to be quiet, and that you do your own business, and work with your own hands, as we commanded you: and that you walk honestly towards them that are without; and that you want nothing of any man's.
And we will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevail them who have slept.
For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them into the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord.
Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words.
~~ 1 Thessalonians 4: 9-17, DRV
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.
These next couple of weeks are going to be crucial for the U.S. COVID-19 will peak, and it will be incumbent upon us to make no trips to indoor public places, to carefully shelter in our homes. Hopefully you have stocked up on groceries, toilet paper, medications, and any other necessities. I don't think it's a coincidence that this peak in the coronavirus is occurring during Holy Week. The significance of the timing might vary from person to person, but I think that it should be taken as a signal for our country to turn back to God.
Yesterday, Palm Sunday, my family watched the first hour of the Mass given by Pope Francis on YouTube, on our Smart TV. This was the portion through the homily. I finished watching the Mass by myself. Today, before beginning homeschooling, my daughter and I read the daily Mass Scripture readings from the USCCB website: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040620.cfm. You can also view Masses this week with Bishop Robert Barron on YouTube, at his "Word on Fire" program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGOpSFAsKU.
I encourage all Catholics to seek out the sources available for participation in Holy Week, and to pray family Rosaries. You could pray a sorrowful mystery each day from today through Good Friday, which will culminate with the Crucifixion of Our Lord. I also encourage all the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, including those who do not normally observe Holy Week, as well as people of other religious traditions, to make this a time of increased and fruitful spiritual practice.
Today I began a novena (a period of 9 days of prayer) to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, using A Book of Marian Prayers by Loyola Press. There are many online links to this novena in its various forms. Here is one, with the subsequent prayers for each day at the very bottom: http://www.god-answers-prayers.com/mother_mary_prayers/perpetual_help_9days2_novena_prayer/index.html. Calling on Our Lady's intercession at this difficult time will keep us safely under her mantle of protection, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
May you have a blessed Holy Week, mining the treasures of the Christian Faith, and offer up your sufferings in union with Christ on the Cross. Godspeed, Rita Michele
4Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! 5Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. 6Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. 7And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One. 8Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. 9Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me— do it— and the God of peace will walk with you.
Philippians 4: 4-9 (The Voice Bible)
Today I was searching for Bible verses about beauty. I discovered The Voice, a dynamic equivalence Bible translation that included poets, artists, and musicians, in addition to the usual Bible scholars, as part of its development team. I think the notes are great, and the language is lovely. The drawback is that it isn't a Catholic Bible, so it's missing 7 Old Testament books. However, it's presented in the context of traditional (viz. liturgical) Christianity. I've found nothing objectionable in it so far. I had intended to view a sample but accidentally bought the ebook on my Kindle, so I've been exploring several passages.
I thought the passage quoted above to be particularly encouraging in the context of our COVID-19 distress. I'm setting an intention to seek Beauty and to avoid all those things which are the opposite of what Sacred Scripture is telling us to focus our minds and meditate upon in these verses. I implore you to do the same.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face. And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.
I could see the light at the end of the laundry tunnel, so yesterday, after having a rare good night's sleep and feeling very energetic, I blew the laundry out, washing every last item. My theory has been that as long as I am behind on regular housework, like laundry and dishes, I can't in good conscience delve into other projects. Maybe this is a subconscious ploy of procrastination, even if logically sound.
I had big dreams for today, no longer shackled by a mountain of unwashed garments and linens; but alas, I slept poorly and feel the sinus gunk bringing me down again. I think the brief snow we got tamped down the spring pollen, but then it melted. One possibility that we may not have considered during this coronavirus semi-quarantine is that maybe God wants us to rest. Maybe he wants us to pause, to reflect. Not only to muddle through, to bide our time until the crisis has passed, but to just plain stop whatever we've been doing and take stock.
What do we most value but have habitually taken for granted? How many times, for instance, did I choose to stay home from church and not receive the Eucharist, and now am heartbroken to be deprived of Jesus' Real Presence in the way that only the Blessed Sacrament can provide? There were people I had planned to visit during Lent, like my great-aunts in nursing homes, and now I can't go see them. I look at my calendar and see future plans that will not come to pass. We all had looked forward to events that we assumed were unchangeable. The idea of not going to Mass on Easter Sunday, because there won't be one, seems like something out of the Twilight Zone.
Now let's see where we're at on the FlyLady path. So far we have established a few things for our morning and evening routines. We shine our sinks and put out tomorrow's outfit in the evening, and go to bed at a decent hour, turning off screens an hour prior. In the morning we put away the clean dishes, start the laundry (one load per day at least, washed, dried, folded, and put away), and get dressed to shoes. At some point in the day we do a 15-minute, whole house (or main level) declutter. We set our timers to manage our time. I should note that Diane in Denmark admitted that she doesn't necessarily do everything in her routines every single day. It's okay to miss, say, a day of shining your sink, but try not to miss more than two, or you may fall out of the habit. But even if that happens, you just jump back in from wherever you are.
I'm only going to add one more thing at this time, and that is self-care. Every day we must take time, if only 15 minutes, for our personal well-being. My husband told me that for our mental health, the WHO has recommended that we only read about or watch news of COVID-19 for ten minutes, twice a day. Yes, it's important to stay current with the mandates and developments, but we must not immerse ourselves. We must not obsess.
Today I didn't have the energy to take a shower, so I just soaked in the tub while I read a book and treated myself to a clarifying clay facial mask. I read today's Mass readings and the meditation for this date in Simple Abundance. But I've been watching myself sneak onto the internet beyond the allowance of checking email that I had planned for Lent.
Basically I only wanted to go online to use the library services, do whatever was necessary for homeschooling, to blog and to receive the communications from our homeschool co-op. Co-op is of course cancelled for the time being, so I don't even really need to check email very often. Following the coronavirus progress got me on YouTube, and it's so easy to fall back into old habits once we open the door. I felt I was being of service to post this blog to Facebook, though that was the main internet usage that I had intended to give up.
So I will share this post on FB, and then that will be it for the remainder of Lent, and likely for longer. I've encouraged my friends to sign up for email notification of new blog articles. I will go back to strict avoidance of the internet. I'm sure my husband will keep me abreast of anything I need to know about the pandemic. Things on the internet can surely be inspiring, but I believe increasingly that we are being guided to a new and better way of living, if only we will stop and listen. There is no reason to go full speed ahead. I think I can use these bare bones of the FlyLady system to keep things humming along nicely, to have a solid framework for my days. If I can add more, great. If not, no big deal.
We're experiencing the reality, right this moment, of what can happen to our best laid plans. There must be something more.
A secret garden. A buried key.
One of the best things I learned from FlyLady Diane in Denmark's 31 Baby Steps YouTube series was to religiously use a timer. This can be an oven timer, timer app on your phone, or a good, old-fashioned kitchen timer that dings when your set minutes are up. I've used a timer for completing projects in the past, but for whatever reason, Diane's way of doing it was most effective and convincing.
The benefit to using a timer is that you are limiting the time you spend on any one task, making it more likely that you will not only make a start, but finish it. It will also keep you from wasting precious time doing things like surfing the internet. When you sit down to use your computer or phone for checking email, social media, the weather, etc., set that timer for 15 minutes. When it goes off, you stop, even if you are mid-sentence in a Facebook comment.
This practice actually has Judeo-Christian roots. Think of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, which teaches that there is a time for every purpose under Heaven. Imagine a monastic life of prayer, sleep, eating, work, and recreation, where one moves on to the next task when the bells ring, simply because it is time to do so. Especially during our current COVID-19 semi-quarantine, we can adopt a monastic mindset for our home life.
What I want you to add to your daily routine today is a 15-minute, whole house declutter. Now, I have a large home, and I primarily use this only for the downstairs. All you do is walk from room to room, throwing away trash, straightening the sofa covers and cushions, taking dishes from other rooms to the kitchen, and anything else that will put your home quickly back in order.
Once you do this regularly, it will often not take the full 15 minutes. You can use the remaining time to wash up a few dishes, wipe crumbs off the counters, or make yourself a cup of tea! This is a good task for evening, so that in the morning you are facing a relatively clean house. But any time during the day works.
Do not underestimate this tool for managing your time. If used diligently, you will find that setting a timer will quickly make a difference in accomplishing all of those tasks you've been procrastinating. More timer tips will follow, so stayed tuned!
