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...that many of us are now dealing with what is being called “Covid Fatigue”??

Now, almost a year into the disruption of almost every area of our lives due to the pandemic, there is a real problem with stress.

The mental and emotional effects of isolation, disruption of almost all ‘routines’, the underlying fear of illness, as well as the loss of friends and loved ones, is causing what mental health professionals are calling the ‘second wave’ of the pandemic – with a 400% increase of calls for assistance and ideation of suicide. (And, compounding the problem, our Country does not have enough mental health workers in ‘normal’ times!)

People are reporting feeling unusual levels of stress, because of a number of causes: disruption of schooling, work schedules, and every day routines; cut-backs in hours; vacations, and family visiting being cancelled or postponed. So many of our daily routines have been upended, and, of course, we’re all wondering what ‘normal’ will look like when we get back to it!

Fear and pain are two ‘triggers’ for anger in any normal adult. When we are kept off-balance, by all of the changing regulations and uncertainties, it is easy to become irritable and easily offended! ‘Mole hills become mountains’, and ordinary delays and simple oversights become major irritations and offences.

Even the most even-tempered of folks can discover that their ‘fuse’ seems shorter these days!  The fact is, that we are all being affected by “Covid Fatigue” to greater or lesser degrees – whether we are experiencing it for ourselves, or its effects in those around us!

As we walk through this holy Season of Lent, may we suggest that more important than ‘giving up’ candy or the glass of wine with dinner, this year we may want to ‘take up’ rather than ‘give up.’ We should ‘take up’ a different attitude toward yourself and those around you!
Consider this verse: “Be kind to one another; tender-hearted, forgiving each other. Remember, that God in Christ has forgiven you!” (Ephesians 4:32)

Perhaps this Lent, we can truly practice being more kind – to ourselves and others!

Kindness is, in fact, the every day, ’garden variety’ form of love. Every time you refrain from an unkind thought or word, you are fulfilling the Lord’s command to love. Every time you exercise kindness, in even the smallest thing, you are fulfilling the Lord’s command to love!

So the next time you start to get ‘riled up,’ consider that the other person, like you, might be dealing with “Covid Fatigue,” and respond to them with kindness! When you feel yourself tempted to give way to anger or excessive sensitivity, realize that this well may be “Covid Fatigue,” and give yourself a moment to regain your spiritual balance, and be kind to yourself!!

What better way to reflect on God’s merciful love in Christ and the cost of that forgiveness (His terrible suffering and death) than to make this Lent a holy Lent -- by a commitment to kindness!!!

“The beauty and the harmony of churches, destined to render praise to God, invite us human beings, too, though limited and sinful, to convert ourselves to form a ‘cosmos’, a well-ordered construction in close communion with JESUS, Who is the true Holy of Holies!”

                                                                                          - Pope St. John Paul II  (1920-2005)

Prayer for Healing from Coronavirus

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