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With the rapid spread of the Coronavirus, it’s hard to remember we’re still in the season of Lent.
While some of us may have given up Facebook or chocolate this year, perhaps we’re all trying to cling to our patience, instead.
After all, there may not even be chocolate available to buy!
I’m sure we’ve all seen clips of shoppers standing in line for miles, their carts filled with groceries, toilet paper and hand sanitizer, suspicious of the person behind them.
Maybe we’ve been one of them.
As the old saying goes, “Patience is a virtue.” While there are so many things about this outbreak that we cannot change, our attitude is one of them.
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We may define the word attitude as an, “inner disposition; the way we think or feel inside.”
That’s really what our Lenten penance is all about – trying to change our attitude; the way we think about others; the way we feel inside.
In particular, Lent is all about growing in love.
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In the Gospel, Jesus says, “I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill the Law.”
That’s a tall order.
By the time Christ walked this earth, the Jews followed more than the 10 commandments. Over the centuries, rabbis tacked on additional rules, leading to a total of 613!
They must’ve been gluttons for punishment.
But Jesus says that anyone can fulfill these rules – and the Law – with one word, love.
Love your God; love your neighbor. Then you fulfill the Law – and by extension, the regulations of Lent.
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So how much have we grown in love this Lent? Especially with this outbreak of the Coronavirus, have we found ourselves increasingly patient or irritable? Selfish or generous?
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While there are many things we cannot change, our attitude is one of them. Perhaps that should be our focus as we move ahead.