Day 19: Spiritual Food in Quarantine

“Whenever A Person Turns To The Lord, The Veil Is Taken Away” (Exo 7:25-8:19, 2 Cor 3:7-18, Mk 10:17-31)

The saddest thing that could happen when we are beset with pestilence is for our hearts to be hardened. Such is the case with Pharaoh in the reading. The Israelites and the rich man were hardened as well. A veil that lies over the heart is what causes the hardening. That veil is removed in Christ. “But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away,” St. Paul declares.

Hardening is what happens when we remain in our uncaring, self-absorbed ways. Our present world is overtaken by a catastrophe. It would be tragic if it passes and we didn’t learn the virtue of charity. As a character in a Russian novel said, “hell is the suffering of no longer being able to love.” It’s up to us to choose whether to be hardened or to turn to the Lord.