Novena for the Pandemic

Wow, so much has changed in the past 5 days! Now we are in a declared pandemic and we are all in a position of having to practise social isolation.

How do we handle this? Of course, we want to be people characterised by kindness, generosity, grace and dignity and we want to stay connected with each other.

We can offer to buy groceries for the elderly neighbour next door. We can call loved ones, especially those who live alone, to assure them of our love and care. We can participate in large group events online, especially those that are offering us strength and tools for coping with the times we are in.

One such offering begins tomorrow. It is called a Novena, which is prayer offered daily for 9 days in a row for a certain intention. Abbey of the Arts is offering the Novena, free of charge. If you go to www.abbeyofthearts.com you will be able to join in. A webinar will be held each day at 1pm, EDT. I invite you to join us tomorrow if this idea appeals to you. Christine, our online abbess, said that as of this morning 1500 people worldwide have already registered!

May we all manage to sleep well tonight, and awaken refreshed in the morning, ready to live our day in trust and hope.