CONCHITINA SEVILLA BERNARDO
We were asked to share how the three years of Covid changed us .
Covid time was extremely difficult for every one. But, looking back, there were times that were good. I share with you a very personal part. I know, in fact, I am certain, that most, if not all of you, have experienced it .
During Covid, I must have exhausted every Netflix series , watched YouTube, had long conversations on the telephone with life long friends. I do not think I have ever spent such a long and uninterrupted time with my spouse. It was nice, very comforting .
Most of all, during the lock down, I prayed a lot .
Primarily, I prayed that my loved ones and friends be spared of this terrible plague. I, however, lost friends to Covid. Others went because it was time to go. How I mourned them! I still feel their absence! I grieve.
I get very angry at whoever started this terrible virus. I was very fearful, so I prayed a lot more.
I belong to a parish prayer group called Contemplative Outreach Philippines We practice a method of prayer called Centering Prayer – a form of Contemplative Prayer. We met throughout the pandemic and continue to do so regularly even up to this day. There were zoom meetings, support groups, and prayer conferences with the most amazing spiritual speakers. I was so grateful for these moments when I could touch my soul and rest in the Lord. These moments were a soothing balsam that cradled me through that terrible time and brought me to a zone where there was silence, peace, and joy. And soon I learned what it meant to be in the “Divine Dance”.
During the lock down, I learned that during Contemplative prayer, the prayer of silence, something truly mystical takes place. In silence, you savor the love of the Father, received by the Son, and returned by the Spirit. A vortex of love. You become part of the unconditional exchange of love between the Holy Trinity. Merely by sitting quietly, consenting with a word like “ love” or even whispering “ I love you,” you get caught in this gentle swirl of love . You dance the “ Divine Dance” by just being in that moment of loving exchange, and suddenly, it is transforming! Your heart than fills with overwhelming gratitude. Grateful for life, for blessings, for nature, and yes, even grateful that the pandemic led you to this moment and to this dance .
This pandemic, this Covid 19 lock down, taught me not to try to manipulate life. No matter what I think I can do, I cannot change things. It is what it is. Things happen because they have to happen. Not even a leaf can fall from a tree without a divine consent. So my only task, for now, is to flow into this dance. As I swirl in this gently spinning circle of unconditional love, it suddenly becomes so easy to “Let go and let God.”