Trust in God, be not afraid

I trust that each of you is having a happy and blessed Easter. I am writing this on Easter Sunday afternoon. It is providential that Easter falls during this terrible coronavirus pandemic. We need to be reminded that we are Resurrection people. Just as Jesus rose from the dead we know that God helps us rise again from all the difficulties and setbacks we experience in life. Jesus’s Resurrection assures us that we will land on our feet and put this pandemic behind us.

If we look, we will find God present in this current coronavirus crisis. God is there in the first responders, namely the doctors, nurses and others who use their God-given skills to cure the sick. God is present in the truck drivers who bring food from the fields to the markets and those who risk their health working in the markets to feed us, the hungry. God is present in the scientists and lab technicians who are using their amazing brains given by God to find medicines that will cure us and a vaccine that will protect us. God is present as He works through so many people who support and help each other weather this difficult time.

God made His presence known to me on Holy Thursday in a very special way. Our family was blessed with the birth of little Willow Jane in Nashville, Tennessee. Willow was born to the granddaughter of my first cousin, Art. If I remember correctly how my Dad, who was a lawyer, used to explain it, Willow would legally be my first cousin three-times removed. Because I am a priest and have no children and grandchildren, the birth of every new family member has special meaning to me. I am 84 years old and am a little over 6’4” in height and 260 lbs. in weight. Little Willow is three days old and is 18.5” in height and 5.2 lbs. in weight. Willow will grow to hopefully be 84 years old too. May she always realize how deeply God loves her and how He is always present in her life as she travels through her unique pilgrimage of life.

Again, Happy Easter!

Fr. John