Quarantine – a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed. In its origin the mean is a period of 40 days. Luckily, my own experience was only 20 days.
In the past months, this method of isolation was largely used as one of measures to fight against the COVID-19. This condition has affected millions of people around the world. Rich and poor, old and young as well. None was exempted from this condition. Here I would like to share a little about my own experience and the virtue that helped me to face it.
As I had one contact with one suspect of COVID-19, the doctors asked me to go through a strict home quarantine. An isolation at home, in my room. First of all, I was fortunate, to be quarantined at home. Despite to be locked I was at home and not in a government structure. Nonetheless, still quarantine.
One thing I found helpful was to have key words that open paths to read situations of life. The ones that accompanied me in the past days were: faith, hope and love. I believe they facilitated me a lot to see and to live this moment with serenity.
Faith was the first one. Keeping in mind the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen…” (Hb 11,1). With faith one can pass through all kinds of experiences by trying to see the action and the presence of God in it. We all find difficulty, and I am not an exception, to see the presence and action of God in an undesirable condition that we are in. For many times, in the past days in my room I asked the question: what does God wants to tell me with this situation? This question accompanied me since the first day although I did not find a clear answer. Maybe the time will help me to find the answer if it will be important or even necessary. Faith is the realization, as the scripture tells above, perhaps, only the time will allow me to see that realization.
For sure, the big tragedy in life is not what happen to us but what we do with that, and how we will react to such situations that we are unable to change for the moment. Faith helped me to do the things, that were possible to do locked in a room. Again, thank God this was a place familiar to me this also facilitated many things.
Hope, this virtue in those days healed me from the most dangerous experience that we are so habituated to pass through. The habit of living out our reality. Not present at the moment. Thinking in one future that is not here yet. In one word; anxiety. To be anxious is the best way to take the pathway of emptiness. This state may trigger some expectations that most of the time are not helpful in nothing. This was one of my first fights. The anxiety started to make me think: if my result will be positive, what will happen? What will be my reaction? How will I communicate it to my family? What will happen to the community? True questions, but with answers at that time with no lack of fantasies. Bringing me to fear, instability of emotions and distortion of the reality. One of my temptations were to make this period a full-time activity doing many “good” things such as reading, writing, etc. I come to realize that there was not left time to think, to be with me and even to face the inner movements of the heart. Hope was the only remedy in this situation because it freed me from danger of living this moment with superficiality or even worse, using the occasion for self-pity and selfishness. Hope is creative. It touches the inner will that brings one to achieve love.
And love, the one that give meaning to all things. In the words of St. Paul: (Love) “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1Cor 13, 7) In fact, my quarantine was easier since I was not in an unfamiliar place. I had the community with me. We were not together but I knew they were close. I underline this fact, because at the same time I was locked at home there was a brother in the government facility doing his quarantine.
The experience of love was more in this way. Allowing myself to receive love. At that moment it was not possible to do the usual things to and for the community. That time was for me to receive. To be dependent; food, clothes, news, etc. Love gives meaning to all little action, services, words that I received and bring me to be grateful. Grateful to God and to my brothers, as well as to the people outside united with us in prayer. We are separated together. United not only through social media, but first of all in love and prayer.
Now, the strict home quarantine is over. What remain? Maybe the persistent question about the will of God. One of my strong desire was to go back. Yes, to continue life as it was before. But then again: Are there ways to go back to the normal? Someone evokes the “new normal”. Even this will not be able to take away many of the habits of the past that brought humanity and all creation so much suffering and divisions. My personal struggle now is to identify concrete ways to live out the new life open before me and to all humanity.
In this historical event for the human race and all creation we can be sure that “at the end only these three things will remain, faith hope and love…” (1Cor 13,13)
