If the coronavirus and the enforced social isolation that has come with it has taught us anything, it is that we are social creatures who crave connection.
When we were asked to stay at home it wasn’t shopping or consumption that we missed the most, rather it was visiting our family, hugging our parents, attending our niece’s first birthday party, hanging out with our workmates or enjoying a dinner with friends at a restaurant.
Now, as the number of virus cases drops and we cautiously begin to emerge from the lockdown, let’s hold on to that desire for connection and for human relationship, because it tells us something very important about ourselves.
God has wired us for relationship. Even in our very creation, God wanted us to be in loving relationship with Him. In the beginning, he made not one human, but two. When they wandered away from God, we hear God seeking them out: “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Relationship with God and with one another is fundamental to the human condition.
As a priest, I was particularly struck by our need for relationship when the churches were closed and we were not able to celebrate public Masses. While we still offered Mass for our parishioners’ intentions and for the world, and many of us offered Mass online so the people could join in, it made us all more truly aware than ever that we are priests for God and God’s people. The role of the priest is intrinsically relational.
As missionaries too, this kind of connection is fundamental. We are called to go out to others and to bring them the love of Jesus Christ. Indeed, this is the call of every baptised person. These past weeks of not being able to be among the people in the same way we ordinarily would in our various ministries has been difficult. We’ve missed seeing you all!
As we begin to slowly re-engage in our community life once again, we know things won’t be quite the same. There will be social distancing obligations to observe and some activities will still need to be curtailed. But as we start to re-connect, let’s make sure that we don’t forget those on the margins, who may have done it particularly tough over these past weeks. May we never again take for granted the simple act of having a cup of tea with a parent or an elderly neighbour. May we remember in prayer and solidarity our indigenous brothers and sisters, many of whom are living in communities which are still in complete lockdown, with only essential workers allowed in or out.
And may we give thanks for the many different relationships that make up the fabric of our lives, some more challenging or life-giving than others, but all part of our story. Thank you for your relationship with the Divine Word Missionaries. We are deeply grateful for each of you.
Yours in the Word,
Fr Asaeli Rass SVD,
Provincial.