The Wuhan Coronavirus has placed us on a new journey. As Catholics, As Christians, we do not walk alone in this journey. One of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Mother Mary has endured the journey of holiness on this earth and enjoys her eternal reward in heaven. Her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, guided her on this journey. As the Holy Spirit guided the Blessed Mother; the Holy Spirit will guide us through this Wuhan Coronavirus crisis.
An unexpected journey can put you to the test. It is good to remember the words from Jesus: ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you’. I remember graduating from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gautier with my Associates of Arts. I wanted to enter seminary, but it did not work out. Change course! I made preparations to move to the University of Southern Mississippi. It was May 2004, and I was asking the question: where I am going to live? I had never rented an apartment; new adventure! I signed up for classes: where was my classrooms located? I needed a bed to sleep on: how was I going to purchase furniture for the apartment? I had a lot of questions floating in mind with no answers. I knew that I had to make the journey. I wanted a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and History. So, I embraced the unknown and moved forward in life. Faith helps in embracing the unknown. The question I struggled with was, do I place faith in my abilities? or do I place faith in Jesus? Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 would help me realize that I need to place faith in Jesus.
The disciples in the Gospel would face an unexpected journey that would put them to the test. Jesus was reminding them to have faith in Him: ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you’. Jesus was about to endure His Passion and Death. The disciples would face the horror of the Roman executioners. The faith of the disciples would be shaken. An unexpected turn in the journey occurred. This is not how I imagined this would turn out! I was not expecting this to happen! Jesus is not supposed to die! What is going to happen to me? The disciples had a lot of questions floating in their minds with no answers. Do they continue to place faith in Jesus? Jesus tells them, “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.”
The disciples were fishermen, a tax collector, men of the world. Jesus hungered for the gift of faith to grow in their hearts. Not worldly faith—I can catch fish. I can count money. I can use language to make a trade. I can plant crops. I have a skill in making boats. Worldly faith! Jesus hungered for the gift of heavenly faith to grow in the hearts of the disciples. Jesus gave the disciples the model of trusting in heavenly faith, The Mother of Jesus! Mother Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. She was walking in heaven right here on earth. As the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she was full of grace. The journey was not unexpected, because she fully trusted in the movement of the Holy Spirit. Mother Mary surrendered completely to God.
An unexpected journey can put you to the test. You have to shut down your business because of a virus. You cannot go to school because of a virus. You cannot go to Mass because of a virus. As Baptized Christians, the unexpected journey does not belong to us. Our journey belongs to Jesus. I could not see that as college student. Some of the disciples could not see that as Jesus talked about His death. The unexpected journey is our cross we carry to grow in holiness. As Christians, our lives are about following Jesus. How did Jesus die? The cross. The Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mother Mary shows us how to walk the road of heaven here on earth. John 14:15-17, “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.’”
An unexpected journey will always put us to the test. What is the answer? Holiness. Embrace the cross, do not run from it. Endure the test till you rest in Jesus’ arms. Life is short, heaven is eternal. Do not despair, listen to Jesus, “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.”