When Paul wrote what is cited in our first reading, he looked back, perhaps with pride, and saw that he had been pretty successful, abundantly blessed. Further reflection suggested what he had was comparable to a treasure in a fragile container.
The coronavirus endemic enables me to appreciate this insight. Can I not see better today than a year ago the paradox between the gifts our electronic age has given me and God’s hidden glory? A tiny microscopic germ can wipe out fast all that I hold precious.
Thanks to the virus, present sufferings, anxieties, sleepless nights, bad as they are in themselves — and no one can deny they’re not – can enable me to see more clearly that God has not abandoned me, nor will he do so. He is my father; he will provide.
So, today, I will spend some extra time asking him to strengthen my confidence in him, and to make his assuring love more present to so many people pestered by anxiety thoughts, who cannot accept what they cannot understand.