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December 1, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – During the seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Western culture often focuses on the joy of homecoming – gathering with family and friends to celebrate the holidays together.
But during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many are sheltering in place in their homes, Associate Nancy Mason-Bordley and Sister Mary Ann Dixon, OP, spoke of another homecoming – coming home to ourselves. Their November 19, 2020, Spirituality presentation, “Homecoming,” was part of a monthly series of presentations offered by members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Spirituality Committee. Nancy is a member.
“There’s no place like home,” Nancy said, quoting Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. “Yet, nine months into the pandemic, homesickness has a different meaning,” since many of people are sheltering at home the majority of the time.
Nancy spoke of the fortune of many people who are sheltering “in the place of our greatest safety and comfort,” while others are suffering through the pandemic with no place to call home, as migrants searching for a new home, or as people for whom home is not safe or comfortable because of situations such as domestic violence.
Nancy also spoke of the change of heart that could result from people’s quiet time alone. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to come out of this with a new outlook – more tolerance, better understanding, patience, compassion, a greater appreciation for the itinerant life?”
Sister Mary Ann focused on the benefits of the enforced sheltering at home: a time when people can slow down and truly tap into their inner lives. “The COVID experience has been like an unrelenting tutor or field trip,” she said. “This is a time and space to be present to ourselves. The opportunity for much more solitude has invited us to be better acquainted with our inner self.”
Nancy suggested writing down the ways that the experience of being homebound during the pandemic “has called for responses from you, and how that’s made you more resilient.”
Watch the entire presentation below.