Sing!

I couldn’t help but be impressed by the videos coming out of Italy of people singing together from their windows and balconies as they waited out their quarantine.  Patriotic songs, religious songs, any songs, when life handed them lemons, the Italians made limoncello.  Well, the virus-that-shall-not-be-named now dwells among pretty much all of us, so it’s time for us to start singing, too.

Please don’t think that I’m taking our current situation lightly—I work for a healthcare company; I get what’s going on.  I’m not suggesting that we’ll all get through this on a few bars of Doe a Deer every day.  I’m talking about making the best of an otherwise bad situation.  The next several weeks, maybe even months, promise challenges we never imagined, some mundane, some downright scary.  During this time, we’ll face the same choice every day: wring our hands, fret, and worry, or help each other make the best of it.  Let’s be like the Italians in those videos and choose the latter.  Let's sing!

For my part, you can count on my prayers for you every day!  I also plan to post on this blog several times per week.  Since this is a religious/spirituality-based blog, I know that you’re not coming to me for instructions on how long to wash your hands, homemade hand sanitizer recipes, or advice on where to find toilet paper.  Tune in here for prayers, inspirational scriptural passages, reflections, book/movie recommendations, and links to awesome things that people are doing to help each other make the best of our situation.

I'll kick it off with this quick reflection and recommendation.  I find it no coincidence that immediately after I learned that our Diocese is suspending public Masses, I read that the Book of Psalms is located in the physical center of the Bible.  It’s fitting that we find the Psalms at the very heart of Scripture, because prayer is the center of our spiritual lives.  You see, the Psalms, which means songs, by the way, are a series of 150 prayers that express our deepest emotions.  Joy, sorrow, thanksgiving, fear, praise, anger, contrition, longing, wonder, you name it, the human condition, good, bad, and indifferent, is laid before the throne of God in the Psalms.  I LOVE the Psalms, so my first recommendation to you to help make the best of our situation is to pray the Psalms.  Just open the Bible, flip the pages, and let the Holy Spirit pick one for you.  Or, if you’re looking for reassurance and peace, try Psalm 46: “Be still and know that I am God,” or Psalm 23: “Your rod and your staff comfort me.”  If you’re pressed for time, Psalm 117 is the shortest (two verses), if you have nothing but time, Psalm 119 is the longest (176 verses).  And if you need to start your day off in good company, join me and countless clergy, religious, and lay faithful in praying the Psalm that opens the Church’s daily prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours: “Come let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the rock who saves us!” (Psalm 95).  Yup, in good times and in bad, Scripture tells us to sing!