Fr. Joe, who was pastor of a smaller set of parishes on the Western side of the province shared an insight that brings a smile to your face. He was the passenger of the man who owned and operated the local tire shop. There on the pavement were the tire tracks of a set of tires. Fr. Joe pointed this out: “Now, isn’t that terrible?”
The owner of the tire shop (his income depends on tire sales) calmly responded: “No, not so bad!”
What you see always depends on where you are standing!
We are now into ten solid days of brutally cold weather. Everyone will tell you that they check the weather forecast several times a day when the thermometer is as low as it is today. But what do we see from the vantage point of an artic wind that will freeze exposed flesh in a couple of minutes?
People mention the men who have to work outside, such as the men who service the oil rigs, the farmers who are out with their cattle, the toe-truck drivers and all people in the police service. No one mentions these workers when the weather is pleasant.
Often mention is made of the elderly and shut-ins who will spend today and every day during this cold snap, alone. You can sense that these concerned individuals are getting into the shoes of the lonely, the isolated and the shut-ins. There are serious concerns about the mental health of our seniors in our long term care homes. With all the lockdowns they miss the human contact and support the that only close friends and family members can bring. People ask, “Who gives grandpa a hug like his twin eight-year-old granddaughters can hug Grandpa?”
We look at the absence that so many of our families experience when they can only have a very limited number of family members come to the funerals of their loved ones. We have families who have to invite some of the grandchildren, but not others (there is no more room). There are no gatherings after the funeral to share and support one another with stories and memories of the loved one. Funerals and/or leave takings are a painful season.
The unemployed too often have such empty days. How do you keep your spirits up when you are looking forward to ten more weeks of this inactivity? And what of our students working from home who struggle to pay attention to the Zoom lecture but have no one with whom to share this learning time? Where is the human touch in this semester?
When we go over this list we recognize that when times are manageable and going well, we seldom even think about these people and their struggles.
There is blessing in this week of brutally cold weather. We see the struggles of others that we walk by in the good weather.
This week of freezing cold weather places us in a different place to observe the world. The strong ray of sunshine in this cold weather is not outside. It is what is happening within us as we see the light to look towards the sufferings and isolation of others.
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