Thought for the week

“MAY you live in interesting times” is supposedly an old curse. We are living through interesting times at the moment and for many people, suffering from bereavement or deprivation, it may well feel like a curse.

However, despite having to cancel foreign holidays, forgo socialisation with my friends and trips to the theatre, and missing the usual structure of my life, I have found many blessings in the midst of the “curse”.

The first pleasant surprise came on the first day of “lockdown”, when some children from a local family put a note through my door offering to help me in any way I might need.

I do not know these people very well at all, but their first reaction was to offer to help me. What a blessing is that! I often curse my computer if it won’t do what I want – normally because I’m making elementary mistakes – but I have to confess it’s a blessing and a lifeline at the moment.

From basic landline telephones, through mobile phones, to Skype calls and Zoom meetings on our laptops, where would we be without IT? Without the present crisis, it would never have occurred to me to attend Sunday Mass at Westminster Cathedral on line – but I do so enjoy it.

Let’s not forget the natural world. Reduced human activity has given nature a chance to flourish. I had a pair of redpolls in my garden – a bird I had never seen before.

Springwatch’s scheduled visit to Wales was cancelled, but the presenters brilliantly brought it to us from their own back gardens.

Pray for those who mourn, help those in need, but always give thanks for the blessings we still have.