March 31, 2020 — Students around the world have had to come to terms with a whole range of disappointments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The list of cancellations — from sports seasons to graduations — is long and growing. But at the Jesuit high school in Seattle, students are reminded of what really matters in daily video prayers such as the one recently recorded by Ulises Covarrubias, SJ.
Covarrubias is serving at Seattle Prep as part of his Jesuit formation. In the video message emailed to students yesterday, he talks about how often in life we are told to “Go big or go home.” The inverted message these days, he says, is “Don’t go big. Go home. And, in fact, stay home.”
At home, there is opportunity, Covarrubias says, if we let Christ enter our reality and offer a new lens. Telling the students that Saint Teresa of Calcutta said that if you want to change the world, go home and love your family, he offers a prayer for all of us whose worlds have been reduced to our homes.
While acknowledging that home confinement is not easy because every family has its difficulties, what better way to spend our time at home than “growing in love with our families.”
“The relationships we have at home will impact how we view the world, what we seek in the world and what we give to the world.”