“We beg you, Lord Jesus,
bind us with the love of you and our neighbor
so that we can love you deeply with our whole heart,
and not be separated from you.”
–Saint Anthony of Padua

Reflection

Saint Anthony’s words from eight centuries ago hit close to home in these days when so many of us are physically distanced from one another. He prays that the Lord will empower us to love deeply—“and not be separated” from him.

“No one is closer to us than he who healed our wounds.
For the Head is one with his members.
Let us therefore love him as our Lord and God.”
–Saint Anthony of Padua

Reflection

For me, the most poignant and painful stories of the pandemic are the testimony of nurses and physicians who must attend to the dying without direct physical touch. These caregivers are gloved, gowned and masked. Their patients are isolated from all those who love them.