All on the Altar

Is it just me, or have the last three and a half months been especially challenging, stretching us in unprecedented ways?
 
This has definitely been my experience, in more ways than one.  Working in a long-term care setting at this time can certainly be described as “stressful.” 
 
Between being on high alert, sanitizing surfaces and taking temperatures, etc. to dealing with tensions that arise from people being frazzled and exhausted, to facing uncertainty and seemingly constant changes, these times certainly take their toll on a person.
 
I am reminding myself, as I write this post, to be careful not to let this stress get the better of me!  (I’ll admit that it has, on occasion, in the past.) I need to try not to be short or unkind with others as a result of the pressure. I am so grateful for the fresh start given in the Sacrament of Reconciliation!
 
I’m glad, too, that all of this struggle does not go to waste. 
 
Years ago, I learned to offer all this “stuff” of my daily life, the “prayers, works, joys, and suffering,” as well as any concerns, placing it on the altar (in my mind’s eye) at the time of the offertory at Mass.
 
Not only can I bring these challenges to Jesus during private prayer in front of the tabernacle (or throughout the day), I can also lay them all before Him, on the altar, when “assisting” at Mass.

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