In the middle of Lent came the coronavirus. For some, it is a product of man or a warning from nature; for others the end of the world, despair, panic. I have taken the path of the believer, the one who asks: Where are you my God? What is happening? What are you telling me from this reality? I, as a seminarian, live this confinement in freedom. God continues to be present and uses this strange and incomprehensible situation to tell us something that could be important, something about us, about others, something essential about Him.
Despite the fact that some people repeat to me "Where is your God?" (Ps 42:3), and I listen to friends who, with doubts, cry out like the psalmist "My rock, why have you forgotten me, why do I have to walk dejected...??" (Ps 42:10); in spite of this, it is fundamental for my life to recognize the closeness of the eternally loving one, the closeness of God. To stay at home and gaze at the crucifix is to live with the conviction that God is present, He is here, in spite of this dramatic situation.. He has borne our sufferings, because "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn3:16).
With this conviction This confinement is due to coronavirus, in solidarity with those who live with me and with my family, with whom we are very close, even from a distance. Staying at home, to suddenly slow down my daily routine and considering that the value of life is more important than getting an honors degree or acquiring the most sophisticated cell phone is worth it. Staying at home, as we are being advised by health authorities, is making me more grateful to Godfor all that he has undeservedly given me, either through my family or through his of the benefactors who help my priestly formation.
Because not leaving home is to enjoy the small details that often go unnoticed. The situation of isolation in solidarity has modified my schedule a little, although not in the essential. I still get up at 6:45 a.m., thanking God with a list of prayers that my mother taught me since childhood. Lately, I lengthen these prayers with a part of the rosary to pray in a special way for Mexico.
All this does not detract from the fact that our minds and hearts are united to our families, to the people who collaborate in our priestly formation and to all those who are helpless, even dominated by fear, which does not allow them to listen to God even in these situations.
In the oratory I prepare myself to receive the Eucharist. I bring to my mind all those people who cannot participate in these days of the Holy Mass in person, although they can participate online. Prayer for the deceased, for the sick and their families, We were also in favor of all those in power, especially the Church. After breakfast, we organized ourselves to clean our rooms, corridors and stairways, following the established sanitation indications.
When I finish, I study the subjects I am taking. I find it very moving to hear the bells of the nearby parishes at midday, inviting us to pray the Angelus and the Angelus. the Pope's prayer to Our LadyOn the occasion of the coronavirus, we united as a Church to pray for those who need it most. After noon, we participated in the various workshops organized by the seminarians. For example: English classes, Italian, guitar, video editing, photo editing, etc.
At the end of my lunch shift (since there are 108 of us in the house and to keep distance we have taken turns) I pray the rosary. At four o'clock in the afternoon the online classes start. Between classes, homework and homework, I communicate with my people in MexicoI pray a lot for them. I pray a lot for them, I send them positive and preventive news, links to Eucharistic transmissions, rosaries, the Way of the Cross, etc. I have discovered that social networks have very positive things. For example, some days I link up with my family to pray the rosary together. for the end of Covid-19 and I make you participants in the prayer of the Bidasoa Seminary. Thus, my carnal family and my vocational family are united in the prayer of the family of the children of God, united in the prayer of the Church.
I continually bring to mind the words of the psalm that says: "Why art thou cast down, my soul, why art thou troubled? Hope in God, that I may yet praise him, the salvation of my face and my God." (Ps 42:6). I am thinking especially of people who cannot participate directly in the Sacraments or of those who believe that the Church, or even God, has abandoned them. What is certain is that neither God nor his Church abandon anyone.From the Pope to my nephew, who is almost 6 years old, they are praying in this situation, especially for those who need it most. Thus, it is good to see how some priests dare to go out with the Blessed Sacrament to the streets, others transmit adorations to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharist, Rosaries and even online retreats.
Since I have been using Facebook or Instagram I have not seen so much presence of the Lord, so many people sharing and seeing this kind of links. Even non-believers see Him, who sooner or later will run into Him, since God, among other things, invites us to restructure our domestic churches, our family relationships, value what we haveTo value His sacramental presence, to strengthen our relationship and trust in Him. To make Him known. I continue with my schedule. Before going to dinner I do my evening prayer. During Lent, I joined the sacrifice of confinement to better prepare myself for the Lord's Passover. After dinner, I share recreational activities with my companions: board games, documentaries, musicals. And finally, before going to bed, I pray another part of the rosary, Compline. It is a time to thank God for a new day.
Everything facilitates a faster connection with the divine.
I would like to end these lines by emphasizing that living my quarantine in this way and giving it a supernatural meaning is achieved thanks to the very solid human and spiritual foundations that are found in the Bidasoa Seminar. The fraternity of the companions, the responsibility of the work, the example of piety, the witness of the formators, the creativity of the students, etc.
I would not have discovered these human and spiritual foundations if God had not placed me in Bidasoa. This house is like a jeweler's shop, where those precious stones that the Church and the world need in the 21st century are molded. Perhaps this quarantine is the chisel that the Good Jeweler uses to polish the precious stone that Mexico needs in the coming years. Only God knows. That is why I can say that, in spite of the coronavirus, I live in freedom this confinement.
