Finding Jesus in the Temple

After a crazy day at home, I snuck away for a quick run just before supper. I pray the rosary when I run, because the Blessed Mother is the perfect running companion, and today being Monday, I prayed with the joyful mysteries. 

One Week Down

And what a week it's been!  This time last week, I was preparing to take my son to his piano lesson and go to Mass at a nearby parish, when Jeff advised I should probably call to make sure Mass wasn't cancelled (it was). I made the decision then to do piano by video call instead (which we did the following day - it was such an infusion of normalcy and beauty in an otherwise chaotic time!) And I cried when I tried to update our calendar, ultimately choosing not to erase all the events we were certain to miss for the foreseeable future.  My friends, a lot has changed since then.

Day Two - Sorrow and Hope

We are on our second day of social distancing, following the recommendations of our local government (like most of the people in our province, thank goodness).  Yesterday went much like it usually does.  To be honest, not much will change in our day to day, except that we can't see any of our friends or family.  As we homeschool, that remains the same. Our oldest two, who were homeschooled right up until two years ago, easily reverted to the old routine of working alongside their siblings (and only put up a minor fuss when, apparently talking to some classmates through the day, they discovered that not every student had to keep up with school work this week!  Sorry boys, that's what happens when you're the child of a homeschooler 😉). Today however, is when things began to sink in.

Salvator Mundi

In our diocese, the Bishop has announced that after this week, much like the rest of the country, there will be no weekend Masses to help limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus. So this morning we all arrived in silence.  The usual comradery and social pleasantries were eerily absent from our typically social country parish.  At the end of Mass, the plates of sweets laid out for our customary after-Mass social remained covered in plastic, as people who normally congregate in the lobby quietly walked to their cars, emptying the church almost immediately.  Going to Mass this morning felt very much like Good Friday, which I remarked to my husband. His reponse was that we are almost more solemn than Good Friday.

Christ, the only Certainty

It has been a crazy week.  The developments as Covid 19 spreads, and we continue to learn and adjust, certainly carry the possibility to induce fear. In fact I find, it takes effort not to succumb to it.  Just one week ago what seemed so far off is now imminent, causing us to cancel gatherings and watch as grocery shelves go empty and people prepare.  What is one to make of all of this?

(Imperfect) Rules for Running - And for Life

I have been a runner for a little over a year now, and it is always remarkable to me the lessons I learn about running, that are also applicable to life in general.  Here, in no particular order, are a few of the things that generally strike me while I’m out on the roads.