As I write to you today, I, along with most of you in our Region am under a “stay at home” order during this stressful “time of Coronavirus.” While appreciating the need for this action, it is still difficult for us to wrap our minds and hearts around these restrictions. Most of us have not experienced a situation like this in our lifetimes.

In a recent reflection, Richard Rohr says: “For many of us, this may be the first time in our lives that we have felt so little control over our own destiny and the destiny of those we love. This lack of control initially feels like a loss, a humiliation, a stepping backward, an undesired vulnerability. However, recognizing our lack of control is a universal starting point for a serious spiritual walk towards wisdom and truth.”

If we take this spiritual walk, as Rohr continues in another reflection, we will find that: “My life is not about me. It is about God. It is about a willing participation in a larger mystery ... we do this by not rejecting or running from what is happening but by accepting our current situation and asking God to be with us in it ... Our lives are about allowing life to ‘be done unto us,’ which is Mary’s prayer at the beginning and Jesus’ prayer at the end.”

What is “being done to us” now, is that Masses are canceled and many of our churches are closed. This is difficult to bear, and I feel like the Church is “going underground” again, as it did during times of past persecutions. But, “going underground” this time includes physical separation from each other, something particularly difficult for Franciscans, for whom being “in community” is one of the hallmarks of our charism. This is truly an experience of Lent that we will never forget.

Fortunately, there are still ways for us to be “in community” – not physically, but virtually. We PRAISE GOD that we have technologies that enable us to participate in Mass, liturgical celebrations, gatherings, and council meetings via TV, computer, or phone. My own local fraternity is staying in touch by email – “checking in” with each other at least once a week.

Even so, what is most difficult for us at this time is being deprived of the Eucharist, especially as the Easter Triduum draws near. How can we celebrate Easter without the Eucharist, the Bread of Life?

I was thinking the other day that the Coronavirus is like the Grinch, who as the story goes, tried to “steal” Christmas. The Grinch took away all the externals of Christmas from the little town of Whoville, but, amazingly, Christmas still came. This time, the Coronavirus Grinch is trying to steal Easter from us. But Easter will still come, even though we will not be able to physically attend Mass and receive the Eucharist. We won’t have the externals, but Easter will still come – in our hearts and in our souls!

Please know that your Regional Executive Council is here for you and is praying for you and your families. And let us remember that WE are the Church, the Body of Christ. As the Body of Christ we will feed, support, and love one another through this crisis. And we will recall that Jesus told us that he will be with us until the end of time. With these assurances, we will persevere as we look toward Easter and the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to be our light, our life, and our strength!

May God bless you all!

Patricia Serotkin, OFS

Minister, Lady Poverty Region Holy Week 2020