Here we are preparing to celebrate July 4th, the birthday of our nation, and give thanks for all the blessings we have in our country. We can also ask, “How are we doing as a nation?”
We are emerging from the Pandemic, but Covid still lingers in our neighborhood. This past week three of our team tested positive for Covid, including Fr. Gallo, Sister Olga, and Sister Lucero. The strangest thing for me was that it happened to the day, exactly two years ago in 2020, when Fr. Froy, Fr. Jose, Sister Olga and Sister Lucero and I tested positive on the same day for Covid. July 2020 was a tough month for all five of us.
The difference is that this round of Covid appears to be more contagious but faster moving and less severe. It’s more like a flu. I’m not as concerned today as I was then about the virus. Two years ago, the level of fear was much higher. Covid is no longer an unknown, serious concern like it was two years ago.
My greatest concern today involves the way we dealt with Covid, with the severe lockdowns and their consequences. We know now those lockdowns were not very effective but had serious consequences. We shut down schools, churches, and entire industries. Many of those businesses will never reopen.
States and countries that didn’t lock down had similar disease outcomes as we did, like those that locked down, but they didn’t suffer the lockdown-related issues. There were worse effects that resulted from shutting down. We are seeing those unfold now. We are seeing economic and social issues related to the lockdowns. The shortages and supply chain issues, unemployment and economic problems would not have been so severe if we had not shut down the economy, schools, and churches.
Even more concerning is what happened to our children and many adults. Humans are social creatures. We depend upon human relations, accountability and interactions for healthy behavior and development. We are seeing things that greatly concern me and should concern our community.
We are wrapping up our season of First Confessions, First Communions and Confirmations. What we are seeing is disturbing. I’m seeing 4th and 5th grade public school children who cannot read in English or Spanish. (We are not seeing this in our Catholic school children.) Often, children have not developed social skills and find conversation awkward. Fear is a great burden. The children are often far behind in their human development. There was a report out this week that our Austin public school kids are testing much lower in Math and Reading than before the Pandemic. The kids and adults have much more addiction to their screens, and poorer attention spans.
We are seeing a lot more problems with older people and adults with sexual issues and a great deal of pornography use among men and women. There are serious behavior issues like depression that are emerging and concerning.
It is not normal to shut people in and limit human contact and socializing. It is especially concerning when it affects children. I have not yet heard a vocabulary for what we are seeing, but it is real. In some ways it is more terrifying than Covid. We will be seeing the negative fallout of these matters in the months and years to come. I’m concerned for violent acting out, suicides and drug use and overdoses. This is not normal behavior, and it is negatively affecting our communities. We need healthy families and communities.
In the Gospel we hear,
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
He said,
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
The post Covid world is full of wolves.
He instructed them,
… cure the sick in it and say to them,
‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’
Our religion is not a sideshow. The Kingdom of God is real. The Kingdom of God is the solution to our challenges. Our faith calls us into contact with the world around us. We have never seen things get so bad so fast as in the past two years. And economic predictions are for them to become worse over the next two years with more shortages and inflation and a lot more stress on families. Very few of you have ever experienced the world of hyperinflation. It is very destructive.
Now is the time. We will be called upon to live our Faith and our Hope in God’s Kingdom. Personally, I would like to see a lot more of our children in Catholic schools. Families should be seeking ministry activities in service to the community. That is healthy on many levels, as we get to know the community around us.
Jesus said,
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Cure the sick. How? Proclaim the Kingdom of God. That is where we will find real Hope.
We can’t do this alone. We must do it together. This is the work of Church. Together.