One of my cousins sent me this poem. Kathleen O'Meara's poem, 'And People Stayed Home,' written in 1869. I found it very meaningful especially during this troubled times.
And people stayed home
and read books and listened
and rested and exercised
and made art and played
and learned new ways of being
and stopped
and listened deeper
someone meditated
someone prayed
someone danced
someone met their shadow
and people began to think differently
and people healed
and in the absence of people who lived in ignorant ways,
dangerous, meaningless and heartless,
even the earth began to heal
and when the danger ended
and people found each other
grieved for the dead people
and they made new choices
and dreamed of new visions
and created new ways of life
and healed the earth completely
just as they were healed themselves.
So we’re not the only ones! Others have been challenged too. And with the help of God, others have found a new life. We too can have a new life if we let God use our experience to transform us. Whatever situation we are in now, whatever uncertainties we are going through now, God can touch and transform and restore us to fullness. As the psalmist says, the “Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. He is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.”
In the first reading Ezekiel prophesies that a “river of life” will flow from God’s throne in the Temple. This water will transform everything it touches, bringing life, healing, and restoration.
In the gospel Jesus see transforming a crippled man's life to wholeness by healing his body. The man comes to the pool helpless and desperate to be healed. Jesus asks him if he wants to be healed and then demonstrates God’s mercy and power by telling him to get up and walk.
Today, Jesus asks us as He asked the crippled man, “Do we want to be healed?”
God wants to free us from the power of our sinfulness and make us whole again. During this pandemic, I am so impressed to see the Goodness that is around us. I hear people reaching out to those who are lonely, Dolphins returning to beaches, all of nature learning to coexist. As the poet sang, may we make new choices, dream of new vision, create a new way of life, and heal the earth completely just as we will be healed ourselves. May this be a time for us to transform ourselves to the saving grace of life in Christ and grow in holiness.
Father Pinto's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
To view the daily homily and Rosary prayer streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am EDT, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
