The crisis levels are waning. The days of rapid spread of the virus, hospitalizations and death, in most countries, are much lower; the violence of last summer has brought us to days of trying to sort it all out. But now is the time of desperation. I know that sounds dramatic, but consider…. People are desperate for jobs; for money to pay rent, utilities, insurance; for day care; for gasoline; for fearing that they will end up arguing with someone about mask/no mask or vaccinated/not vaccinated; for a feeling that they can make ends meet no matter how they do it…. Do I need to go on?

People think it is just too “pie in the sky” to keep saying, “Thank God I have my faith”. But consider this, how many times have you spoken in sadness, in grief, in joy, in anger? How many times have you screamed to the heavens to make it all end? How many times have you asked God “WHY”? How many more entries will there be in your journals where you ask God to give some answers? Those are deep and powerful prayers, more from the heart than maybe ever before, but they capture the human spirit trying to connect with its creator and make some sense of it all.

There are people all around us who say that they cannot pray, they cannot find the words any more; so we have to pray for them. If we have no other remedies for them, our prayers can find a way. Pope Francis, in his first in-person audience since the pandemic, spoke about prayer and said “it is no walk in the park. Yes, one can pray like a parrot,….but that is not prayer.”

Look to your heart and pray with it. Yell at God; cry with God; scream out your frustrations to God. God knows it all and holds it close. Our prayers are very real and God knows what is in our hearts before we even speak! What a blessing!