As Robert Burns put it, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” As the coronavirus pandemic caused us to cancel our Catholic Campus Ministry spring retreat, my students and I decided to adapt to the circumstances. The theme of the retreat, which was originally to take place over Palm Sunday weekend, was “Holy Week with the Saints.”
Talks would reflect on the events commemorated in the Holy Week liturgies through the lens of different saints. With our students now struggling with how to celebrate Holy Week at home, we decided to resurrect our retreat as a “virtual mission,” with talks, discussion and prayer delivered remotely throughout the week.
Most of the sessions were led by our student leaders, but the final talk on Easter Sunday fell to me. I spoke about two saints: Mary Magdalene and Athanasius. I focused on Mary Magdalene’s words of longing after finding Christ’s tomb empty on that first Easter morning: “They have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they laid Him” (Jn 20:13). Her words express the heartbreak felt by many Catholics celebrating our Lord’s Resurrection without being physically with Him in the Eucharist.
But I also offered comfort in the words of St. Athanasius from one of his Easter letters: Jesus “is present for those who thirst…” and “Whenever anyone seeks Him he is freely admitted to the presence of the Savior.” Christ is present to us in the very act of our longing for Him – not sacramentally, but in a spiritually meaningful way nonetheless.
I talked about how “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and how our temporary separation from the sacraments can increase our appreciation for Christ’s Presence, especially in the Eucharist. During the discussion that followed, I asked my students if they could share any experience they had of absence making the heart grow fonder. They shared stories of studying abroad and being away from friends, having boyfriends or girlfriends attending different universities, and parents in the military being stationed overseas. One thing they observed is that, while they missed their loved ones, they also quickly got used to their absence. Life goes on, and days may go by without giving the other person much thought. If “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is true, then so is “out of sight, out of mind.”
This is one reason why long-distance relationships are so difficult. No amount of phone calls, video chats or texting can substitute for the real physical presence of someone in your day-to-day life. To make a long-distance relationship work, the couple must be very intentional about maintaining good communication and fostering real affection for one another. That doesn’t happen automatically. It takes effort.
The question I then posed to my students was this: How can we keep Jesus from being “out of sight, out of mind” during this time of isolation? The ideas they shared were very practical. Surround yourself with religious art, so you can frequently look at Jesus and the saints. Listen to sacred music. Read a book about the faith (this is your chance to read that one book you “keep meaning to get to”). Take advantage of livestreamed Masses, not only from your own parish but from around the world. One of my students shared how he’s been participating virtually at Masses offered in Italy, England and Jerusalem.
And, of course, they spoke of the importance of prayer: lectio divina, the rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours were all mentioned. They all agreed that it is more important now than ever to maintain a regular schedule of daily prayer. Not being able to rely on the usual routine of community prayer we offer in Campus Ministry, they have found that they have to be much more intentional about their prayer life.
That, to me, is the major lesson in all this. The way we keep Jesus from being “out of sight, out of mind” is to be intentional in our devotion. Absence really can make the heart grow fonder, but only if we take care to kindle the fire of devotion. The above suggestions made by my students are all ways of keeping Christ at the forefront of our hearts and minds. This is what it takes to keep from taking Christ for granted: stirring up that desire for Him each and every day. And that’s something we ought to be doing throughout our pilgrimage on this earth, whether we are socially isolated or not.
My prayer is that the practices we develop to foster our longing for Christ during this time of isolation may continue to increase our devotion to Him well after this current crisis has ended. This time of spiritual drought can also be a time of renewal. After all, “God works all things for the good of those who love Him” (Rom 8:28) – even this.
Deacon Matthew Newsome is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate. He has been publishing frequent reflections for his students on the WCU Catholic Campus Ministry’s YouTube channel while students are away from campus, which can be accessed at www.WCUCatholic.org.