{"id":14153,"date":"2021-06-03T12:58:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T17:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=14153"},"modified":"2021-06-03T12:58:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T17:58:55","slug":"welcome-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/welcome-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome Back!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I remember St. Patrick\u2019s Day 2020. We had just gotten word that we were in a worldwide pandemic. Everything got shut down. We all went into isolation. Catholic mass obligation was dispensed. No restaurants, movie houses, in school classes, working from home (if you weren\u2019t furloughed), empty highways . . . remember? Of course you do. We\u2019d never seen anything like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well here we are now, a year and three months later. Welcome back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Sunday (fittingly called The Body and Blood of The Lord), the church asks that all who are healthy (vaccinated, etc.) and emotionally able to attend mass in person, see that as a serious responsibility of Faith. \u201cCome to mass\u201d, the Church says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know about you but it\u2019s all a bit of a blur for me. It\u2019s like starting to wake up from a bad dream. \u201cWhat was that?!\u201d And there\u2019s a bit of a \u201chung over\u201d feeling (not that I\u2019ve ever been hung over – – heh heh!) Handshakes and hugging seem strange and new, planning get-togethers feels slightly daring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, like the Spring, life begins its normal rhythm. There are still serious concerns, of course. Much of the poorer nations have only begun to recover. Lack of vaccine is an issue we cannot turn our backs on. We must help them. But here at home we breathe easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So what was it like for you? Did you meet the virus personally? Someone you love infected? Did it test your Faith? Do you feel different? Maybe we\u2019re still too close to it to find out what it did to us. In time we\u2019ll look back and see it in perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, here are a few preliminary thoughts on what we\u2019ve seen and been touched by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n