I think most of us can read today’s Second Reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) and easily admit that it hits differently in the year 2020 than any time previous.
I think we can all look back on this year and realize that even though we thought we were ready for difficult times and tragic seasons because we had a strong personal faith, to live through difficult times has been a bracing shock. Our world has been upended and what we previously thought would never cause us pain, frustration, decision fatigue, and grief has surprised us and brought along with it doubt and anxiety.
Saint Paul was speaking to Christians who had already chosen the new path of Christianity. A path that was anything but easy, one that often brought along the threat of death or severe punishment. These Christians had already had their worlds upended when their eyes were opened to the fact that the Son of God was really a man from Galilee, and their faith took hold.
They now knew that the promises of the world, of its structures, and its level of comfort were not where true peace and security came from.
We are experiencing a life-changing series of events in this area of a global pandemic and its fallout.
The anxiety, grief, and doubt you feel isn’t wrong because you profess faith. These emotions are normal steps on the human path. What we may be feeling on any given day, at any given hour, does not change the reality that by our Baptism we are children of the light.
God has given us this gift of faith not to take away our sufferings, but to unite ourselves and our sufferings to Him.
This time of uncertainty and difficulty is still time that God has given to us. We can accept both its struggles and anxieties while also knowing that our security is found in our relationship with God, and that one day we will hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) when we meet Him face to face and hear His words about the year 2020.
See how these monks have gone deeper in prayer during the pandemic.
Christy Isinger is a cradle Catholic, wife, and mother of five teenagers from western Canada. During the short Canadian summers she tries to garden and grow flowers, while in the long cold winters she reads a lot of books, writes, and homeschools. Her Substack newsletter can be found at christyisinger.substack.com.
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