Preaching Goes Viral

A Different Kind of Sunday Celebration

The Covid pandemic has brought an enormous amount of uncertainty to religious groups all over the world. In a time of an undetermined future most people would turn to their faith for help. This pandemic made turning to one’s faith very difficult. I grew up in a Catholic household where I attended Catholic school for fifteen years of my life. Every Sunday I would wake up for Church where I professed my faith alongside my immediate family and my grandparents. Due to Covid, people all over the world with all different religions were not welcomed in their place of worship. To grow up thinking that church is a place where God will never turn you away, was definitely an adjustment when the pandemic hit. Obviously it was not a problem with the church or with me, but the feeling of being turned down from a place I only knew as being welcomed was extremely difficult. I can only imagine that various religious affiliations around the world had members feeling the same. There was so much uncertainty and devastation in the world and no one knew where to turn. I was grateful to have been stuck quarantining with my mother, my father, and my brother. These three people reminded me that family is the most important thing in life. It made me think about the people who were alone during that extremely lonely experience. My family would continue to gather on Sunday’s and talk about our religion. When it became offered my family would watch Church on the news every Sunday. April rolled around and it meant it was my Mom’s birthday. My mother is the most religious out of our family. She is always asking herself, “what would Jesus do?” My mother turns to positivity when the going gets tough. She will always tell us that, “the energy you put out in the universe is the energy you will get back.” My dad, brother, and I knew that not being able to go to Church was very difficult for her. We had the idea of bringing Church to her. Her birthday just so happened to land on a Sunday morning. We woke her up with the news that our priest from our parish was going to say mass for us and then join us for dinner. There were obvious Covid precautions taken before and during this event that was held. Even with those slight adjustments, my mother had a weight lifted off of her shoulders. She was pleasantly reminded of why her faith is so important to her and why she continued to wake up every Sunday morning and continue to worship that faith. It is the little things in life that people are beginning to be thankful for in a time of such distress. This story is eye opening not only to those who share the same religious beliefs, but to those who turn to a light in a time of darkness and uncertainty.

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Personal story, social media or blog post, unpublished material, etc.

September 16th, 2020

Faith Craddock

Catholic Church

Roman Catholic

Chicago, Illinois