A Call to Spiritual Bonding
by Elise D. García, OP -- LCWR President-Elect
As I write this column, the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is rocking our nation and the world.
Social distancing is the catchword. We leaders of religious institutes, along with leaders of governments, schools, parishes, businesses, civic organizations, industries, and nonprofits, are challenged with making daily, if not hourly, determinations about the breadth of its application as a proactive form of quarantine.
That this time of global sickness and quarantine has come during Lent gives us cause for deep spiritual reflection. The term “quarantine” comes from the Italian quarantena – meaning a 40-day period – and it originates from the days of the Black Death in the 1300s. As we are called to engage in social distancing for the common good of all, our 40-day Lenten journey this year includes the sacrifice of missing significant gatherings, weddings, birthdays, funerals, liturgies, and the daily social interactions we so take for granted. Concerns about the impact of isolation heighten awareness of the precious gift of simply being with one another. (To continue reading, download the PDF document below.)
Also available below is a letter to all consecrated brothers and sisters from Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life regarding the pandemic.
