The benefits of social distancing and self isolation are seen in the low rate of COVID-19 infection in our province. Another benefit is the halt to some of the busy-ness that often made up our day. In “normal” times there was often little time to be quiet or to reflect on what was happening around us or to us. It is good to take some time each day, maybe at the end of the day, to look at how we live what we believe and how we have been faithful to following the gospel of Jesus. That can be uncomfortable and make us want to seek some distraction. Or, even worse, it may lead us to do an examination of other people’s lives. After all, that’s much easier and a lot more entertaining!

Looking at the ways we have been faithful can be very encouraging. If you have placed someone’s needs before your own or if you have chosen to let go of a resentment or to actually forgive someone who has offended you, then you have accepted God’s grace and chosen to love. But if you discover that you have acted out of selfishness or chosen to cause harm to another by words or actions, it reveals an opportunity to ask for God’s grace even more and to learn how to love a little more. That’s the best protection against the pandemic of sin that tries to enter our lives each day.