from the bishop
Bishop Francis I. Malone Dates are important – both the good dates, like birthdays and anniversaries; so are bad dates, like November 22, 1963 or September 11, 2001. There are some dates that are forever etched in our minds that we could never forget them. In particular, I am thinking of those dates that resulted in a sense of being overwhelmed to the point of feeling so totally lost or abandoned that recovery from whatever it was that happened eludes or evades us. Fortunately, I have had only one of those overwhelming dates in my life, God has been so good to me. But I know the feeling of being overwhelmed, and I have encountered too many people in my life who felt the same way. Have you one of those dates, an event, a memory that stays with you because it overwhelmed you at the time? Have you ever encountered a person in such a condition? The frustrating part of encountering someone who is overwhelmed is trying to help them get through it – or past it. 2020 has been quite an unusual year for us
4 THE CATHOLIC CONNECTION
all. As a nation we have had to face the reality of issues related to the inequality of race relations, and the violence that followed, and continues to surface. We watch the news, or we talk to those negatively impacted by such events, and we can see their hurt and hear about their pain, and we know they are overwhelmed…lost…abandoned. Then the Coronavirus comes our way – and not just our way, but globally infects most of the world. No one seems to be immune to it, and it doesn’t take much to observe the sick, their families, those on the front lines of health care. Without a vaccine and in the face of increased numbers of the sick and the dying – so many become overwhelmed by this pandemic that seems to have no end. Then nature raises its ugly head in the form of a Hurricane. How odd that we give them names instead of numbers, as if personalizing them makes them seem less ominous. Hurricanes are not new to us – we even have a “season” dedicated to when they are most likely to come our way. Hurricane “Laura” came to Louisiana
