Invisible Priests

The invisible enemy, Covid 19, has caused our religious figures to become invisible. What is a priest without his personal contact with his flock? Jesus gave St. Peter the keys to His kingdom. Peter was ordained by Christ Himself to be the first priest, the first pope, the first visible physical manifestation and direct conduit between man and God. Catholics believe in all that is “seen and unseen”, “visible and invisible” in accordance with our Apostles Creed and belief system in general. Our priests are the tangible representative of Christ in this world. God wants us to be with them and them with us.

Our conduit to heaven, that connection between the visible Priest and invisible God has been severed by the virus for the moment. This is the season of Lent. It began on Wednesday, (Ash Wednesday) February 26th. We Catholics remember Jesus separating Himself from the rest of humanity, (social distancing) by living alone in the desert for 40 days (and probably an equal amount of nights.)

When Jesus returned from His self imposed exile from fasting and being alone, He became a better man and I might add, a greater God for the experience. His social distancing in this instance was for the salvation of mankind. (That includes women too. I was speaking figuratively.)

Covid 19 will not threaten us forever. The projected dangerous time for us as a species is about 40 days, (nights included at no extra charge.) Our priests and we as a nation will grow stronger in our isolation. Even adults need alone time, a time out so to speak once in a while. What does not kill us will make us stronger. I don’t believe that but it looks good on paper.

Pray for your priests and rabbi and other religious figures. They are people too.

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