Being confined at home and keeping physical distance from dearly loved ones as are our families, friends and faith community, more than ever has revealed to us our vulnerabilities and how much we depend on each other and belong together in this globalized broken and hurting world.
In Spanish we say: “nuestras vidas penden de un hilo” (our lives hang from a string) which means that at any time an accident, a grave illness, or any type of violence out of our control, can cause us to lose our life. Believe or not, right now our lives and the lives of the entire five continents hang by a thread at the hands of a novel virus called the coronavirus that has practically paralyzed most of human activity. Those of us still alive, desperately cling to the hope that our last hour will not come.
In the silence of our homes that have become our refuge, we try to make sense of these unprecedented times praying for all of us. We reach out to our loved ones, writing and calling friends from the present and past. We are moved to tears when we hear any story related to this pandemic, stories of great and humble deeds for other human beings generously offered by men, women and persons of all ages. Those we will never meet but for whom we will be forever grateful.
During this time of turmoil another side of our nation has surfaced. We can no longer hide it under any pretense: this land is not the land of opportunity for all. This microscopic colorless lethal virus has brought to our astonished gaze each one of the social inequities and inequalities we knew existed, and for which many conscientious souls tried to offer solutions to end the suffering, but as this pandemic advances we see them clear as the morning light.
Desperately embracing the hope to survive this pandemic, we try to imagine what the future will be after the Covid-19 virus is under control and or after a vaccine is developed to protect us from this horrible plague. Right now, all we can do is follow guidelines we are told will keep us from exposing ourselves, and protect our neighbors, our loved ones, and everybody from the virus. We can also offer prayers and connect with one another to listen and to offer amiable advice to calm the anguish, the grief, and the uncertainty that has become the normal in our lives.