Continue to pray for justice.
As the summer goes on, I find myself getting a little lackadaisical about Covid 19 prevention. I remember back in March how every single time when I came back home from being outside I would – ahem – religiously wash my hands. (Actually, I said the preamble to Star Trek. I am a nerd.) Personally, I was not afraid. Instead, I was aware that I needed to stay healthy to keep the parish running and to keep from possibly spreading the disease. But after three months (seems longer doesn’t it), you tend to let down your guard. I have always been on “Team Breakout” with the understanding that I would still be careful and not do careless things that put my health and others’ health in jeopardy. But I think now, at the beginning of summer, as more and more things open up, it may be necessary to remember an old saying that I used to tell my students in class:
Biology, chemistry and physics don’t care.
Say what?
I taught Sophomores. I loved it! They were in that strange and amazing instant between “kid” and adult. They were a lot of fun. The only problem I had was that they would also be getting their driver’s licenses throughout the year. Whenever someone would come into class after passing the driver’s test, I would stop them, describe my personal vehicle make, model, year and color, with license plate number, and then tell them, “If you see me, pull over to the side of the road, turn off your engine (no need to engage your flashers) and let me pass.” Mentioning the flashers made it funnier. It was my Sophomore joke. And I said it to everyone, with tongue in cheek. But, like most good humor, it had a kernel of truth in it. Young people, because they are inexperienced and because their brains are not fully developed, are horrible drivers. Not my opinion, it is science. Vehicular accidents are the fifth most common cause of teenage death and drunk driving is number two. I would then go into my sermonette: Students, biology, chemistry and physics don’t care. They don’t care if you are an honors student. They don’t care if you are a terrific son or daughter. They don’t care if you are a trusted friend. They don’t care if you have a scholarship to college or you have a bright future ahead of you. They don’t care if you are funny or a good athlete or a model citizen. Biology, chemistry and physics don’t care. It’s nothing personal. And that’s the point.
The same is true with this virus. And that is scary. It simply doesn’t care.
That’s why you have to.
Father Kevin