A Message from the Director of the Catholic Conference Center:
What is the post-Covid-19 world going to look like? A comparison to the resurrection might shed some light. After the resurrection, the disciples weren’t out in the world singing ‘Allelluias’. They were huddled in fear in the upper room. Only gradually did their understanding of a post-resurrection world come. One thing was certain: life after the resurrection was never going to be the same. Even those who tried to go back to their old way of life – the two going to Emmaus, or Peter’s impetuous declaration by the sea of Galilee, “I’m going fishing” – Jesus met face to face. He patiently reminded them that their old ways are gone. God has a new and more magnificent plan.
As a community, we’re still reeling from the disorienting and tragic effects of the virus. Like the disciples after experiencing the horrors of the crucifixion, we huddle in our upper rooms in dismay, afraid to venture out and come in contact with others, unable to comprehend what the post-resurrection life after Corona might be.
We long for a return to ‘normal’. What the resurrection teaches us is that the ‘normal’ we knew is gone forever. God is going to usher in a new ‘normal’. And if God is true to form, this will be even better than the old in ways we can’t even imagine. The other lesson that comes from the resurrection stories is that even if we try to return to the old, Jesus will meet us on the way, and gently reveal a little bit more of this glorious plan, a plan that at first will be difficult to comprehend.
Our task is to stay close to Jesus as He walks with us through this crisis and remain open to the new ways God intends for us to live, work, play and pray.
May Jesus, the risen Lord, accompany all of us on the way into a new, post-Corona world.
Your servant in Christ,
Deacon Scott D. Gilfillan
Director, Catholic Conference Center