CathNews New Zealand

In the spiritual realm, crucifixions and resurrections are not separate, and, as  Jesus demonstrated, what is resurrected is always greater than what has died.

We have all experienced this way of growth in some form or other.

We need to be emptied in order to be filled.

Ignatian teacher Margaret Silf writes in her book “The Way of Wisdom” that when the ground gets hard, it needs to be broken by the plough before new growth can happen.

That image works for me.

But what happens when the plough upturns a nation?

A world?

Before Covid19 we experienced this movement with the Christchurch massacre. We were stunned. How could something like this happen in our country?

Then we reacted with a flood of love that took us to unprecedented newness.

From that horrifying crucifixion came a resurrection that brought growth to us and to the world.

So how does that relate to Covid 19?

Admittedly, we are still in the tomb where the pandemic is concerned.

We wait with uncertainty.

But if I put my head out to look over the past year, I see indicators of new growth.

Here is my blessing list. I hope you can pause a moment to reflect on yours.

Covid 19 is a leveller. It does not distinguish between countries, cultures, rank or class. The teaching in that is a blessing.

We have been blessed by wise and caring leaders who have been tireless in their efforts to control a dangerous situation. There was no Covid textbook. They had to create systems of protection for us, systems that worked.

We continue to be grateful.

There were blessings in lock-down. As a nation, we seemed to come closer in separation. We were aware of our neighbours and seeds of kindness grew and flowered in surprising ways.

Lockdown brought time for reflection, a time to come home to ourselves and our values.

We became more responsible.

We felt more real.

During the lockdown, we could smile as animals and birds roamed free while we sat in cages.

The world seemed cleaner and fresher without us.

I remembered Mark Twain’s words, “Man is the highest creation. Now, I wonder who found that out?”

And I felt the blessing of humility.

It has certainly been an extraordinary year.

No matter how we view the effect of the pandemic, we know that we are not the same as we were in November 2019.

The economy may not be in good shape, but we are. We have grown in many ways.

Please, God, may that growth continue.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

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News category: Analysis and Comment.