What do we already know to be true?
This post originally appeared on Instagram on November 23, 2020.
If you’d told me ten months ago that life would look like it does right now…
-masks in every store
-a complete deprivation of the sacraments for months (followed by outside Masses for some of us)
-people *running* to get away from someone who isn’t wearing a mask, assuming they are sick
-”canceling” of holidays by governors
-repeated lockdowns (with little scientific backing)
I would have called you crazy.
That’s the stuff of conspiracy theories, right? That only happens in movies, right?
{SIGH}
Never mind what daily media consumption looks like:
-hyperfocus: on ONE aspect of life and health,
-whiplash: of conflicting information,
-uncertainty: persistent messages of “we just don’t know” and “this is different than anything we have ever seen,”
-silencing: of dissenting voices and opinions,
-propaganda-style repetition of “approved” messages
-tribalism and shaming of the other
About 6 weeks into the shutdown, at the height of my intense anxiety, I threw my hands up in the air and wondered aloud if I would ever know the truth.
Later that day, in prayer, the Lord helped me reframe it this way:
WHAT DO I ALREADY KNOW TO BE TRUE?
Through our faith and through the natural law that God has placed on the heart of every human, we know certain things to be true.
(I have lots of thoughts on each topic so I’m making a separate comment for each number below. Scroll down to read.)
1. WE ARE CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD.
This means that our faces reflect divinity. {Mind. Blown.} My thoughts: Are masks necessary in some settings? Yes. Are they necessary or even helpful on the face of every human in every situation without exception? No. And does the fact that we humans are choosing to cover the most expressive part of the “imago Dei,” the image of God, have real and lasting consequences on our culture? I believe it does, yes. Indeed, grave ones. Psychological effects on small children and sensitive adults, a lack of trust that is reflected in how we now treat “the other side” of this debate.
2. OUR BODIES ARE INTRICATE WORKINGS OF GOD’S CREATION.
The Catechism says that man “ is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” (CCC 364) My thoughts: treating our bodies and our neighbors’ bodies as nothing more than pathogen carriers is in direct violation of God’s will for us. Our bodies are good, our neighbors’ bodies are good, and we should act as such.
3. WE ARE BUILT FOR COMMUNITY.
“It is not good for man to be alone”, and “Wherever two or more are gathered in My name , there am I in their midst.” The last few months have seen intense isolation. Sure, many people are experiencing closeness with family members but others are exceedingly lonely, whether they live alone or not. We are not created to speak, work, WORSHIP digitally. We are created to live life in person.
4. WE DO NOT NEED TO BE EXPERTS TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILIES.
God has given knowledge to some, wisdom to others, but He has bestowed us all with an inherent dignity and freedom, again resulting from being made in His image and likeness. Experts can be helpful (note I didn’t say they ARE because some are distinctly dangerous), but I repeat: we do not need to be experts to make decisions for ourselves and our families. In fact, some of those who possess much knowledge are utterly lacking in wisdom and indeed any other virtue. We are made free because only in freedom can we love God fully, serve our neighbors humbly. We should be very careful not to cast this freedom aside at the advice of experts, and we should remember that God does not ask us to be college educated or [insert some other random metric] in order to fulfill our duties as parents or citizens. God is not an elitist. He gives us what we need and then He suffices for our deficiencies.
5. THE MARK OF THE CHRISTIAN IS THE CROSS.
Stop telling people they’re not Christian if they don’t wear a mask. Neither Christ nor His Church have made mask wearing a doctrine or a dogma, and therefore it is up to the individual to determine the right choice particular to his or her own circumstances and interpretations of God’s will. Mark yourself with the sign of the cross. Let that be enough.
6. THE WORLD IS OUR SHIP AND NOT OUR HOME.
The world is our ship, and not our home. Our ultimate destination is heaven, and death is the gateway to that. Memento mori is the latin term Catholics use to remind them to “remember your death.” It has always been and always will be true, until Christ comes again, that our physical bodies are temporary. We are meant to live out God’s will here on earth, and accept death when it arrives.
7. YOU ARE LOVED.
People will tell you you are crazy to question lockdowns. They will tell you that you’re selfish. But God tells you differently. He loves you unconditionally and he wants you to know that if the world hates you, it’s because they hated Him first.
