Thoughts from Mitch

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Lent is the time of the year in which we move toward the cross, the crucifixion, and eventually Easter. During Lent, the Church calls us to repent of our sins. It calls us to a period of fasting, and it asks us to make amends in our lives where amends need to be made. In short, it is a time where we are asked by our tradition to make sure our relationships with God and Neighbor are right, good, and holy.

As I dive into this period of Lent and contemplate Christ’s sacrifice for us, I want to give thanks to the many essential workers, doctors, nurses and first responders who have spent a year sacrificing for all of us. This year I have prayed with health care providers who have been crushed with the weight of constantly filled hospital beds, long hours, and hard conditions. I have prayed with police officers, many of whom got COVID early on, some of whom now regularly pull into the St. Martin’s parking lot to say a prayer at the start of their shifts. They, too, have experienced a lot.

I also give thanks for the grocery store worker who saw me recently as I did my shopping, I was wearing my clericals and for whatever reason, the collar I wear triggered tears… she asked me to simply tell her it was all going to be all right. Her tears were a reminder that the season of COVID that began last Lent has never stopped.

This year, I believe the season of COVID will change. I believe vaccines will be given and received. I believe that we will be able to safely re-open our inside spaces. I believe rebuilding will be possible. In short, I am hanging my hopes on a year of Jubilee. Just as we have in some ways had a year of COVID-induced Lent, I am praying for a year of Easter. The signs of emergence from the pandemic are all around us. From the line nearly six miles long down Bluff Road of people waiting to get their vaccines to numbers finally starting to trend steadily down. In these things, I find hope. While I know in my heart that right now physical distance continues to be the way to love my neighbor as myself, I also know that time for re-embracing is getting closer at hand.

In Christ,
Mitch+