Guest column from Sacred Heart’s Chairman of the Parish Advisory Counsel, Mr. James Rossman.
In this space last week, Fr. George discussed the stunning changes that have impacted us during the last few months. Those changes certainly include a litany of hardships, sacrifice and disruptions of the norm, but they also created an opportunity for reflection, for examination of the emptiness of some parts of our pre-pandemic lives and for imagining a new and better world on the other side of “Safer at Home.” He ended his column with: “What will we do with the time given us?” Continue reading
At the beginning of this time of pandemic, it was interesting to read stories of people on an extended wilderness sojourn as they returned to their normal life. In the several weeks away, they discovered there was nothing normal about the world they had left. They returned to find covid-19, masks, social distancing, sheltering at home, and a world reporting and tracking pandemic. 
This weekend I was in the back of the church and saw that the Lenten Giving Tree was still up, with unclaimed tags dangling on the barren branches. Apparently, it has been weeks since I have been in the back of the church. My world has gotten so much smaller. I wondered what else was back there as a reminder of a time before pandemic. There were copies of the bulletin for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. And here we are now at the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Things change. It is inevitable. It is the way of things. 
This is a wonderful article by Ms. Jennifer Manning, mom, teacher, scholar and gifted writer. Jennifer’s mom works with me in the parish and passed her daughter’s “musings” along. And with Jennifer’s permission, I pass this along for your enjoyment.
I heard a new expression today – probably several weeks old but new to me: “quarantine 15.” Similar to the freshman-15 when a college student enters a new rhythm of life and may develop habits of nutrition that do not serve overall well being. Here is these days of “safer-at-home,” we are facing new rhythms, spending more time at home and just might be discovering a whole new meaning for the word, “homebody.”
Here is the opening of Pope Francis’ homily on Divine Mercy Sunday. The 
I mentioned to some folks this week that the rhythm of my life seems to have re-adapted itself to life from my days in the submarine service. While underway, life unfolded in an 18-hour day. Six of the hours were spent on watch/duty operating the nuclear reactor or piloting the boat (submarines are always referred to as “boat”). The other 12 hours were allocated to rest, meals and the on-going work. For my part, I seem to remember 4 hours or so of sleep as the norm. That norm seems to have returned as I seem to routinely get about 4-5 hours a night. The parish business manager just smiles and tells me it is not a reversion to submarine duty, its old age. This is my blog, so you can just ignore his input. 
friarmusings 