A virus can keep us from gathering. A spirit-wound, it can curtail the sacramental life Christ gave us. But no virus can separate us from Christ.

The preaching of our Lord in the Gospel of St. Matthew—the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables—has come to a close. Now the preacher embraces his passion.

Nothing is more certain than death. Yet normally, nothing is more hidden from our view. We do most everything that we can to not look death in the face.

Horrible things happen in the dark when people are afraid. We must now give witness. If we live in the light, it should be evident. Even in a time of virus.

The call of Christ can appear as one more demand upon your time and energy.

Lord, why do you grant me the grace to see you so clearly, yet deny this same gift to the one whom I so desperately love?