The Sheepfold

The Sheepfold was a common pen where various shepherds would bring their sheep at night.

For us, Jesus is our shepherd and we the sheep, but now we are scattered.

And when shall we be together again?

Perhaps for the elderly, not til a vaxcine is developed. So we have to adjust to a monastic style of life. Monks have led this life for Centuries, so we can too.

We are all monks now, walking in the footsteps of Benedict,Scholastica,Huldegard, Columlille,

The Sheep Gate is open, the sheep Scattered, Confused, Alarmed, Afraid, Alone.

Our days are filled--but with solitude,reflection,reading,prayer, television.

Yet we come together, virtually, zoomed, face timed, facebooked.

Apart: we are ALL TOGETHER, We wear the cowl that Merton wore. creatures OF habit, sounds of silence, echo in our choir!

More time for prayer, reading, solitude.

There is a wonderful book about all of this now available on Amazon.

IT IS 'TOGETHER' BY MURFY.

who was Obama's Surgeon General.

I highly recommend it for these troubled times.

Thomas Freidman recently penned an insightful article about this time of plague:

"The Virus is neither Repub;ican nor Democrat.

We have abused Mother Nature and have reached a tipping point where she has intervened to set things right.

We have plundered the rain forests and poisoned the air, and Mother Nature is rebelling. She will have her say until we begin to listen.

Note that recent plagues like Swine Flu, and Covid have been passed on to us by animals whose habitats we have wontingly destroyed and many of which we have driven toward extinction!"

Some thoughts to ponder.

And so we pray:

O God enlighten our leaders to the reality of global warming,

lest we loose on our earth the wrath of worse plagues.

Bless our health workers and

give us the grace to adjust

to a monastic lifestyle.

Amen