A reflection by Sis. Christine Tecson
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11: 28
It’s almost 4 months since we had the first day of our quarantine period. At first, we were chill and we hope that this pandemic will only last for a month. Mass gatherings were canceled, the doors of the churches were closed, but with strong faith, we were all eager to attend Holy Masses each day. We enthusiastically joined novenas and healing rosaries. We were looking forward to some good news from our radios, televisions, and even in our social media accounts. Days, weeks, months passed by, everything didn’t go well. There are hundreds of new cases each day and had even reached more than a thousand nowadays. Many people became jobless. Trips were canceled, offices were closed and some of the companies permanently closed and got bankrupt. Every day, the bad news is heard and there is much toxicity on social media. There are so much hatred and misunderstandings in our society even if what we need is peace and good plans to aid the needs of the people.
I personally had a hard time dealing with these pressures and problems. In almost four months of quarantine, I also felt hopeless. My faith got affected. Unlike the eagerness I had on the first month of quarantine to attend Holy Masses and pray the Holy Rosary daily, there were days I got tired though I was just staying at home. I got addicted to browsing social media that I forgot to balance everything with my daily prayers. I also felt hopeless in my thought that I can come back to my home province soon. Yes, I participated in the different available Catholic formations, and manage my page for evangelization, but there is that dryness I felt after these days of not being able to go to church, see my friends, partake the Holy Eucharist and participate to any church activities.
Just last Wednesday, we had the first day of our duty in the school, the school where I applied before the quarantine period. It’s the same school I was very excited to teach for it is being managed by nuns, a Catholic School. I thought I could finally serve our parish better through serving while teaching, but unfortunately, everything had changed because of the pandemic. And on that day, since there are only a few tricycles allowed to operate, I was walking from the school to the next tricycle terminal which is more than a 15-minutes’ walk. I got tired and felt pain on my feet that I fell asleep as soon as I arrived at our house. When I woke up, I prepared food for our dinner and joined our weekly online Bible Life Sharing that was led by Kuya Ilaw and Ate Roxanne which was also transferred from the regular 5:00 pm schedule to 8:00 pm. I discovered that it was not only me who felt tired that day. They also had a tiring day. But Kuya Ilaw emphasized that they were only tired physically but not spiritually.
We always start the BLS with a prayer and a Sunday Gospel reading. After that, we will have a few minutes of reflection and have our sharing. While reflecting, I had realized something that enlightens my heart and mind regarding the things I mentioned above. Jesus tells us to come to Him who are weary and burdened and He will give us rest. True, we got tired, we doubt our future, and we feel hopeless that our plans will succeed. And according to Kuya Ilaw, maybe these things happened because we fail to allow Jesus to comfort us and help us in our needs. Then I added that we also have this thinking that following Jesus wouldn’t be easy for we need to take-up our own heavy crosses and follow Him. But that truth is, we only feel burdened if we do it having a heavy heart. I also shared my observation that there is a big difference between working and being able to go to church and adore Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and staying at home worshipping Him online. I might be tired of the working place and hours I have each day, but I was happy. And that happiness I felt weighs so much more than the tiredness.
There might be many of us who can relate to the situation I have, many of us might have the same feeling of tiredness and dryness in faith while in quarantine. But let us together remind ourselves of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel. If we feel hopeless, let us come to Him, hug Him tight, and trust Him more. By this, we embrace the source of hope and soon our yoke will become lighter. Let us hold on to our faith amidst the trials we are facing today. Let us pray not just for ourselves to survive, but for our fellow people to have the same courage and strength too, as well as for our nation to attain peace and our leaders to come up with a better plan to help the Filipinos who are in need. Let us also pray that we can come back to our churches soon and worship Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Lastly, let us ask our beloved Mother Mary to help us pray and lift these prayers of ours to her son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Stay safe, always pray, and hold on to your faith. God loves us!
HAPPY SUNDAY!
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