Lockdown, by Brother Richard

Yes there is fear.
 Yes there is isolation.
 Yes there is panic buying.
 Yes there is sickness.
 Yes there is even death.
But, They say that in Wuhan
after so many years of noise
 You can hear the birds again.
 They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
 The sky is no longer thick with fumes
 But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
 People are singing to each other across the empty squares,
 keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear
 the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
 Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know is busy
 spreading fliers with her number through the neighbourhood
 So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
 are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
 All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
 All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
 To how big we really are.
 To how little control we really have.
 To what really matters.
 To Love.
 So we pray and we remember that
 Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate.
 Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness.
 Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness.
 Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
 Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love.
 Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
 Today, breathe.
 Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
 The birds are singing again
 The sky is clearing,
 Spring is coming,
 And we are always encompassed by Love.
 Open the windows of your soul
 And though you may not be able to touch
 across the empty square,
 Sing