Covid 19 has profoundly influenced the life of every person and our society. This critical experience has highlighted our conception of life and our inner richness and at the same time our limits. It revealed the goodness of so many men and women who live beside us and who dedicate themselves to the care of the sick and comfort those who mourn the loss of a relative.
The time we live is a time of great suffering, but also a «time of grace». It allows us to reorient our society and our personal life. The pandemic reminded us that no one can save themselves ... we all feel the urgency to cultivate fraternity and solidarity, which are manifested, as Pope Francis says, in gestures of generosity... and in accepting the fact that we live together in a common home, bound by reciprocal constraints.
It is precisely in this spirit that the Catholic community of Tavannes (Switzerland) has committed itself to recovering the bonds that had weakened and to revitalizing the evangelical impulse, in a way compatible with the necessary health restrictions.
Our interpersonal relations weakened due to the difficulty of meeting in Sunday assembly; the lack of interpersonal encounter, of mutual support touched us deeply. Now we must all wake up, shake off from the torpor that unconsciously slowed down our lives as Christians and we sisters are at the forefront of this path of revitalization and renewed missionary enthusiasm.
The care of the children, after the quarantine due to the disease of the sisters, continues in joy and commitment. The youth at Glee Club were looking forward to meeting and now have the joy of being together, although they are not yet allowed to sing in group during the celebrations.
In compliance with safety standards, the members of the «Gospel at home» group also met regularly during the pandemic period. How then to express the joy and gratitude of the lonely or sick people who can now receive Communion or simply have a time to share with the sister?
After a long period of interruption, it is not easy to resume catechesis meetings. The confinement, due to the pandemic, deprived some children of the long-awaited and prepared celebration of a stage of their Christian initiation: Baptism, Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation. It is true that the pastoral team proposed to all children online activities that allowed them to keep in touch with each other and with the parish, and therefore to continue their preparation for the sacraments. Catechesis now resumes at a new pace and the organization is well structured.
After the most critical moment of the pandemic, finally children, who should have received the sacraments in the year 2020, can have an «individual celebration». The participation of every single child is deeper and more lively because everyone feels personally involved and the whole assembly concerned. Everything converges to the essential, to the deepest and richest sense of the Sacrament. From the feast of the Merciful Jesus, every Sunday, the community gathers around one or another of these children and their families who celebrate the Sacrament.
A new dawn is announced, a human and spiritual rebirth to be lived in the "providential tenderness of God the Father".
The sisters of Tavannes - Switzerland
https://www.francescane.org/index.php/en/sussidi/item/1241-the-urgency-of-cultivating-fraternity-and-solidarity#sigProIdde8977bfee
