“We can’t think of the Christian life apart from this path. There is always this journey, a journey that He(Jesus) took first, the journey of humility, the journey, too, of humiliation, of denying oneself, and then rising. But this is the path. Without the Cross, the Christian style is not Christian, and if the Cross is a Cross without Jesus, it is not Christian. The Christian style takes the Cross with Jesus and goes forward- not without the Cross, not without Jesus.” Pope Francis
A new month begins on Tuesday. With September comes the opening of schools and a provincial election. These are very welcome signs that small battles are being won in the war against COVID-19. But does it mean that we are on the verge of “business as usual”? People speak of a “new normal” which will define the way we live. The old normal would work quite well if it is done, as Pope Francis suggests, i.e. to live in the Christian style where the cross enables us to be humble and to sacrifice for others and Jesus always gives us reason to hope.
St. Paul warns today about conforming to the age. The present age is marked by the fears connected to the pandemic and a growing sense of isolation, a pernicious kind of separation from others and from the culture and faith that have formed us. In faith we have connected more deeply though prayer for each other and by enduring the sacrifices to keep others healthy. That is the lifestyle of a Christian.