Grace Schab, 87, smiles while talking on the phone with her family April 18, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike previous years, Christmas might look like responding to a Zoom meeting invitation instead of Christmas dinner, a lengthy phone call instead of swapping stories by the Christmas tree or cooking a family recipe from afar on FaceTime. (CNS photo/Aris Harding)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities — what we value, what we want, what we seek — and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of … God asks us to dare to create something new.” (Pope Francis, commentary, The New York Times, Thanksgiving day 2020)
Pope Francis’ striking and poignant op-ed, “A crisis reveals what is in our hearts,” published in The New York Times on Thanksgiving Day, challenges us all to dream big this holiday season … not for the best cyber consumer deals, but for a caring and inclusive approach to life that brings us closer to each other rather than further apart.
While the world continues to suffer the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and many families are forced to celebrate with each other at a distance, our Holy Father astutely observes what the pandemic has revealed — both what is in our hearts and what needs to change. Instead of being overwhelmed, he calls us to respond with compassionate connecting empathy: “In this past year of change, my mind and heart have overflowed with people. People I think of and pray for, and sometimes cry with, people with names and faces, people who died without saying goodbye to those they loved, families in difficulty, even going hungry, because there’s no work. … If we are to come out of this crisis less selfish than when we went in, we have to let ourselves be touched by others’ pain.”
He recalled his own near-death experience at the age of 21, when he was afflicted by a mysterious flu that caused him to be hospitalized and have part of one lung surgically removed. “I have some sense of how people with COVID-19 feel as they struggle to breathe on a ventilator.” Fortunately, he was blessed to have a supportive medical staff who literally saved his life. Pope Francis says they, like so many of our essential workers on the front lines, are truly modern-day saints. “They are the antibodies to the virus of indifference. They remind us that our lives are a gift, and we grow by giving of ourselves, not preserving ourselves but losing ourselves in service. … The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone. What ties us to one another is what we commonly call solidarity.”
Solidarity and the experience of connecting is vital for all to survive and thrive. That’s why some of our local churches here in the Diocese of Honolulu are making “friendly calls” to fellow parishioners, especially the vulnerable who cannot return to church for Mass or ministries during the COVID-19 crisis. Parishes are organizing teams of volunteers who reach out by phone to the elderly, persons living alone, or families severely impacted by the pandemic. Just the simple act of listening and talking story can make a huge impact, helping people know they are not alone.
We are grateful to collaborate with so many non-profits and community groups who are responding to the COVID-19 crisis with resources and services. Catholic Charities, HOPE Services Hawaii, St. Francis Healthcare System, Institute for Human Services, Family Promise, Meals on Wheels, and the Hawaii Food Bank are just a few of the organizations offering vital resources to those in need, including homebound seniors and the unemployed. Connecting by phone is an added bonus making a real difference for people who could use a friendly ear. It’s also a gentle reminder to let folks know their parish truly cares about them.
For more about connecting and sharing a wide range of vital resources with folks impacted by the pandemic, please visit officeforsocialministry.org, which also has Pope Francis’s full holiday messages.
Being touched by people’s pain helps us develop and deepen the hopeful healing process together. In the words of Pope Francis, “Solidarity is more than acts of generosity, important as they are; it is the call to embrace the reality that we are bound by bonds of reciprocity. On this solid foundation, we can build a better, different, human future.”
This is a moment to dream big and to create a better future by being a gift of healing hope with others, reflecting our loving God in the vulnerable Christ child.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
