A priest friend told me that some are asking, "where is God in all this?" That set off three thoughts.
From P.D. James -
Emily Wharton: God has gone away ...
Adam Dalgliesh: My father was a parish priest. When I lost my faith he said, “If you find you can no longer believe just act as if you still do. If you feel you can no longer pray just go on saying the words.” A Taste for Death
Second, did you see the Queen's address? Quite good I thought. None of the false optimism based on the assumption that "the leader" knows "where and when" and he will make it so. I’m assuming you know the Queen’s reference in saying “we’ll meet again”. If not you can listen to Vera Lynn sing it. Our President wants to encourage optimism based on his wisdom about things that he has no control over. The Queen shares what she knows—at some point --“don’t know where, don’t know when” -- we’ll meet again. She doesn’t assume she or anyone else controls it.
My friend wrote, "there's this underlying heart beat that I'm not here by all by myself." I think it might have been in the back of my mind when I came across Sara Maitland's writing, "Actually, the idea that most of us are going to be "isolated" is simply untrue. We wake alone in the night and reach out for the light switch - and we are not isolated, we are instantly connected to a whole lot of people who are generating power to enable our solitude. When we turn the tap on, wait for the post, even put on a warmer jersey, we may be alone but we are not isolated; we are part of a huge complex social web. Most of us have telephones - 85 per cent of UK households have a landline - and many of those who do not use a mobile. Many are also connected to the internet and services such as Skype. We are not isolated as people used to be."
For me, the issue of God, in this, is bound up with all the above--I just go on saying the words, we'll meet again because nothing can separate us from the love, and we are not here by ourselves. Best I can do for the moment.
I hope you are all well and putting on your perseverance and courage.
rag+
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