"This past Christmas, one of the cards I received included a printed letter that came from longtime friends, folks I've known for nearly fifty years. I had met the family in a parish where I served, and I had assisted them during an especially difficult time in their lives. They've kept in touch with me at Christmas ever since.
"The Christmas letter described the challenges the family had experienced during the past year including: their adult children having their livelihoods interrupted by the coronavirus, while also trying to monitor their kids being 'virtually educated' at home; two young grandchildren who were hospitalized with serious illness; and the letter writers themselves, both in their eighties, suffering horribly from the virus.
"But at the
end of the letter, my friends wrote: 'Every minute of every day we give
thanks to God for his goodness and mercy. I didn't write this letter as
a "saga" for you to feel badly, only to let you know how truly blessed
we have been and the strength that you find that you never knew you
possessed.'"
In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence
(RI), reflected on the blessing of the "ability to praise and thank God in the midst of the storm."
To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit:
The Imitation of Christ: The Strength That You Find (28 JAN 21)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment