Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

A psychologist I am not, but after a lot of years of pastoral counseling and celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation, I'm surprised how much people are not talking about the present reality of being in the ninth month of pandemic restrictions and the prospect that this train is currently out of control, as we add 100,000 new cases a day.

Silence often speaks louder than noise.  When confronted with trauma, human beings have three options generally to choose from:  to fight, to flee, or to freeze.  Since we have no way to fight this and it seems that there is no plan to do so, and since there is nowhere to go, it seems we are frozen.  We are living through a global trauma—granted, we are much more fortunate than many because it hasn't been complicated by fires, or tornados, or hurricanes—but this will be something that is already changing the course of the world.  It is significant.

I believe the effects of pandemic as trauma something we have to address as a community.  There are already huge long-term effects.  But when we are in the middle of corporate trauma like this, there are certain avenues that can mitigate long-term damage.  We are all in this together—I am especially concerned about the ways this will shape the future lives of our children.

First, it does no good to deny it, or dismiss it, or minimize it.  This only intensifies the anxiety of those who find themselves in an unsafe place in the middle of the storm.  It is vital that we be honest about how we are feeling and be compassionate, even caring, for those who are in distress.  I've worked with victims/survivors of abuse for years and know that the first step to healing is to know that your story can be heard and accepted.  It must be spoken for the healing to begin.  This is, actually, the way any sort of community is formed, and why our world today is so divided, such a mess:  everyone is talking and no one is being heard.
Everyone needs to know they are in a safe place, especially children.  Even the current Covid pandemic is an opportunity to build resilience.  Knowing they are not alone, they can avoid the state of fight/flight/freeze for which the solution is often dissociation.  Children - and adults - who are unable to process a reality that is threatening can most easily just check out.  It can become a way of life.  Later in life for many adults this turns into substance abuse or other forms of addiction.

I asked a psychologist friend of mine this week if she thought this was something we should address as a community.  She said absolutely.  To not talk about it is to do damage.  Our children need to be taught to regulate their emotions, to stay present in the present moment.  This, she said, can be done in a variety of ways.  The most effective means, she said, are sadly those things which are being cut from public school budgets:music, art, and physical movement are ways that all of us can be grounded in the present moment and establish a physical memory of what it is like to be mindful of the  present moment. She says that these creative modalities can be grounding practices to keep us from "checking out."

Another grounding practice is prayer and meditation, but not the kind of prayer when you just keep repeating memorized words over and over.  Sometimes that can just add to stress.  Meditation: spiritual awareness of being in the present moment through basic methods of centering calm—breathing, focus on the presence of God, usefulness of Scripture or sacred imagery—are ways to regulate emotions and be mindful.

She also said that all of us need to focus on what we can do, not what we can't.  It is too easy right now to mourn the loss of so many things that we could do in the time when we did things.  We are still powerful in our abilities to reach out, to console, to be kind, to serve one another in simple ways that can bring healing and peace.  We need this so much, and we are the ones who can make it happen.

My friend suggested some resources you might investigate.  After our conversation I went on YouTube and found many, many interesting videos on trauma and PTSD, childhood trauma, and ways of healing.  She suggested two websites in particular:  for anxiety management for children, www. gozen.com; and the work of the Center for Mind Body Medicine and Dr. James Gordon, at www.cmbm.org.  He has a very interesting program for healing entire communities.

Maybe we could start a related ministry in the parish?

God bless you,

 Dear Good People of Saint Bernadette,

This week with the election looming we need to call upon all the saints in holy communion with all God's creation to guide our hearts and minds after the example of Christ.  Father Cantala-messa was announced this past week as one of 13 cardinals-elect for the consistory in November.  He has been the Preacher of the Papal Household since 1980 and we have all become better for his beautiful messages.  Here is his reflection on the Solemnity of All Saints.

Commentary for the Feast of All Saints’ Day by Cardinal-elect Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

For some time now, scientists have been sending signals into the cosmos, hoping for a response from some intelligent being on some lost planet. The Church has always maintained a dialogue with the inhabitants of another world—the saints. That is what we proclaim when we say, “I believe in the communion of the saints.” Even if inhabitants outside of the solar system existed, communication with them would be impossible, because between the question and the answer, millions of years would pass. Here, though, the answer is immediate because there is a common center of communication and encounter, and that is the risen Christ.

Perhaps in part because of the time of the year in which it falls, the feast of All Saints’ Day has something special that explains its popularity and the many traditions linked to it in some sectors of Christianity. The motive is what John says in the second reading. In this life, “we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” We are like the embryo in the womb of a mother yearning to be born. The saints have been “born” (the liturgy refers to the day of death as "the day of birth,” “dies natalis.") To contemplate the saints is to contemplate our destiny. All around us, nature strips itself and the leaves fall, but meanwhile, the feast of the saints invites us to gaze on high; it reminds us that we are not destined to wither on this earth forever, like the leaves.

The Gospel reading is the beatitudes. One in particular inspires the selection of this passage: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, they shall be satisfied.” The saints are those who have hungered and thirsted for justice, that is, in biblical language, for sanctity. They have not resigned themselves to mediocrity; they have not been content with half-measures.

The first reading of the feast helps us to understand who the saints are. They are “those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.” Sanctity is received from Christ; it is not our own production. In the Old Testament, to be a saint meant “to be separated” from all that is impure; in the Christian understanding, it is, rather, the opposite, that is, to “be united” to Christ.

The saints, that is, the saved, are not only those mentioned in the calendar or the book of the saints. The “unknown saints” also exist: those who risked their lives for their brothers, the martyrs of justice and liberty, or of duty, the “lay saints,” as someone has called them. Without knowing it, their robes have also been washed in the blood of the Lamb, if they have lived according to their consciences and if they have been concerned with the good of their brothers.

A question spontaneously arises: What do the saints do in heaven? The answer is, also here, in the first reading: The saved adore, they prostrate themselves before the throne, exclaiming, “Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving …” The true human vocation is fulfilled in them, that of being “praise to the glory of God” (Ephesians 1:14). Their choir is directed by Mary, who continues her hymn of praise in heaven, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” It is in this praise that the saints find their happiness and joy. “My spirit rejoices in God.” A man is who he loves and who he admires. Loving and praising God, we identify ourselves with God, participate in his glory and in his own happiness.

One day, a saint, St. Symeon the New Theologian, had a mystical experience of God that was so strong he exclaimed to himself, “If paradise is no more than this, it is enough for me.” But the voice of Christ told him, “You are very poor if you content yourself with this. The joy you have experienced in comparison to paradise is like the sky painted on paper in comparison to the real sky.”  [trans. ZENIT]

Today we celebrate with all our brothers and sisters in heaven; tomorrow we pray for the future glory of those who await being with God.
God bless you.