We Should Be Careful

Dear Friends,

Many of you know that one of my loves is soccer and another is podcasts. So you won't be surprised that one of my favorite podcasts is about soccer. Sort of. It talks about soccer, but also culture and ethics and meaning and all kinds of things you wouldn't really expect from what is meant to be a sports podcast.

One of the hosts is particularly fond of poetry, and he frequently quotes the last few lines from the poem "The Mower" by Phillip Larkin:

. . . we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.

These lines come to mind now and then, especially in times like we've had in recent days. Times when violence is at the top of the news. Times when political rhetoric heats up in unhealthy ways. Times when people we are close to and care for are going through some of the hardest realities of life. Times when the end of summer brings newly packed schedules and new reasons for stress and anxiety.

And we should "be careful of each other" and kind. Everyone we meet is in the middle of something difficult, and much of the time we have no idea what it is. But it's not just "each other." We also need to be careful and kind to ourselves. Because we are all in the middle of something, too.

You've heard this before, but I want to remind us all. Jesus actually seems to say that our ability to care well for our neighbor is somehow related to how we are able to care for ourselves. The first commandment is to love God, but the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). It's as though the ability to love our neighbors requires us to learn to love ourselves.

Knowing yourself as loved and learning to love yourself—not selfishly, not narcissistically, but honestly and humbly—is one of the greatest things we can do to learn to care for, serve, and love others. So during this difficult season, whatever it is that makes it difficult for you right now, be careful of and kind to yourself. Be careful of and kind to each other.

God bless,

Fr. Quinn+

[Photo by Daniel Watson on Unsplash.com]