This post is part of Dominican Center’s series Stay in the Light ~ Stories of Prayer and Hope During a Pandemic.
My wife, Mary Jo, and I are Dominican Associates. Mary Jo is still working in a medical factory, and I went back to work recently in the automotive industry. I am trying to stay busy around the house and have been helping out at the Saint Alphonsus Food Pantry by grocery shopping for those in need. Mary Jo and I both help with our parish food truck, which is now a drive-through food truck. People stay in their cars and circle around the parking lot as we pack groceries and unload them from the truck.
On Mary Jo’s days off from work, she spends the entire day with her 90-year-old mother. After my workday is done, Mary Jo and I make dinner for Mary Jo’s mom and stay with her until we have to go home and go to bed. During my days off we both spend the whole day with my mother-in-law caring for her. She always asks us why we come over every day to care for her and we tell her because we love you, Mom. We also check on her neighbors from time to time.
It is so important to take care of those who are high-risk.
During Holy Week we both served as lectors and were part of a live-stream mass. Last Sunday, Mary Jo and I read at our Sunday mass. This gives us time to spend together.
We feel we have drawn closer together during this time.
We’ve never had this much time to actually spend together taking walks in the park and just hanging out. We understand many bad things are happening right now, but we try to find blessings in our everyday life. Both my wife and I cry from time to time because we miss our sisters and brothers in Christ. We also shed tears for those who have lost their lives because of COVID-19.
Recently, Mary Jo and I took a walk at Marywood. We saw a few Sisters through the window in the dining room. We do miss them so and we love you. God bless everybody.
We cannot wait until the day when we can come to Dominican Center and give everybody big hugs.
At Dominican Center, we believe we are prayer in action, and that connection, contemplation, and creativity will see us through these unsettling times and help us find and be in light. We invite you to share with the Dominican Center community your prayer in action and to feed our souls with that which feeds yours. Read more about the Stay in the Light series here.
To take part in the Stay in the Light ~ Stories of Prayer and Hope During a Pandemic series, please send your writings and related attachments to yramirez@dominicancenter.com.
