Reconnected From Coast to Coast
By Amy K., a former missionary in Honduras and current wife and mother
Like many of you, I felt a great shock followed by a great disappointment with the announcement that all churches would be closed indefinitely. As I was still trying to process how I could continue to live this holy season of Lent and Easter without the normal support of my local church, I received a phone call from a Con-solatio friend. She was just calling to check in and see how we were doing. Her voice was a consolation in itself and some of those early worries about being in quarantine were eased by the unexpected (phone) presence of my friend.
Shortly after, I received invitations to reflections and prayer led virtually by Con-solatio New York. My family and I watched Sunday Mass celebrated by Father Paul and Father Alex in our living room. The mission home in Honduras (my original mission) offered their prayers online. Some formers members of our student home who no longer live locally connected to pray together and catch up. In the span of a few weeks, I had reconnected with Con-solatio members literally from coast to coast.
Many have commented on the exceptional nature of this past Lent – the intense sacrifices and penances that were, in some ways, forced upon us. In one of the first reflections I attended, Father Paul quoted St. Paul, “His Grace abounds all the more” (Romans 5:20). He reminded us to trust that during this time of trials, God is still present to us.
When I joined in for virtual prayer with the Honduras mission home, I (virtually) entered the chapel where I had thrown myself on my knees so many years ago begging God to comfort my friends who suffered so much. Now here I was, again throwing myself on my knees, but this time for the world that is suffering so much. What an unexpected grace of this quarantine – that during this time of feeling disconnected from my local church, I could be more closely connected to our global Church and more closely connected to my dear Con-solatio family.