Kia tau te rangimarie ki a koutou, In these Covid days and these days and weeks of uncertainty, constant change and many challenges, many people are finding it very difficult due to the limitations imposed on our lives by the threat and pressures of Covid 19.
We know that a lot of people are out of work and struggling financially, others are working in difficult and trying circumstances, our social life has been disrupted, and for some mental health and wellbeing are a growing concern. For our Parish, School and College communities, for families and individuals our whole way of praying has been disrupted.
Many are finding it very hard at the moment while there are no Masses on Sundays under Alert Level Two. I understand how trying, testing and tough it is with no Sunday Masses. The decision not to have Sunday Masses, where it is very difficult to ensure that there are no more than one hundred people present, was made solely in order to keep everyone safe and to prevent the spread of the virus. As the Prime Minister said recently “this is a tough year.” This means that we look for ways to support and help one another more than we have ever done before.
A few weeks ago in one of his Wednesday Audiences Pope Francis said “the pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected everyone is,” and then went on to say “the pandemic is a crisis, and we do not emerge from a crisis the same as before: either we come out of it better, or we come out of it worse.” This is not a time to complain, it is not a time to feel sorry for ourselves. This is a time to give hope to one another, and in our parishes in particular to look for ways to make a “new start.” Maybe the new start will come about when each of us looks for ways to sow seeds of love and compassion and inspire others to care for those who are suffering because of the virus.
Every blessing. Naku noa
+ John