Look for Opportunities To Show Love During The Coronavirus Pandemic

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, in addition to following social distancing guidelines, what are we to do?

Recall that one of the scribes asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31

Centuries later, St. Francis began his letter To the Brothers and Sisters of Penance by citing The Greatest Commandment. Today, his letter serves as the prologue to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Recently, I came across a blog post written by Bishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. It is called “The Coronavirus and Sitting Quietly in a Room Alone.” In it I found an answer to my question.

Bishop Barron said that since our normal activities are severely curtailed, maybe it’s time to sit at home with a good book, do a little introspection, pray and grow closer to God. I think doing that would be a way of showing our love for God. He suggests slowly reading one of the Gospels in its entirety — perhaps the Gospel of Matthew, which we are using for Sunday Mass this liturgical year. He suggests trying lectio divina, a contemplative way of scripture reading. He also suggests trying one of the spiritual classics, such as, The Confessions of St. Augustine, The Rule of St. Benedict, or Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain. To his list of classics I would add The Journey of the Mind Into God, by St. Bonaventure.

If you decide to read The Journey of the Mind Into God you might want to avail yourself of many helpful commentaries available on the Internet. Look at several to get different perspectives. I am part of a book discussion at my church and we are slowly reading St. Bonaventure’s classic. It is interesting to hear what others think. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, once a week we were attending a communion service and then meeting afterwards to discuss the book. Now, there is no communion service and instead of meeting to discuss the book we are videoconferencing.

Bishop Barron also encouraged us to look for opportunities to show love and be a sign of hope for others during this crisis. Is there anyone you could pray for? Is there anyone you could call or contact? Without breaking social distancing guidelines, is there anyone nearby that you could help?

Peace and blessings