2020

When I went into the Tasmanian wilderness on Jan 2nd to begin a hike the news was reporting that there was a new viral pneumonia in China. By the time I emerged 7 days later and had internet again authorities were bolting doors shut in Wuhan and the covid pandemic had begun. 

My mum had died in the middle of December, very peacefully, "floating off to heaven on a cloud of morphine" as my sister described it. As the lockdowns began in February and March which aged care places would never truly emerge my family and I were so grateful that mum died when she did and didn't have to go through the lockdown in aged care. 

Lockdown was new for all of us as churches, schools, businesses and families bought zoom subscriptions and then tried to work out how to live in extraordinary times. There was one week when large gatherings were prohibited so Masses were cancelled, but we were allowed to have the churches open for private prayer. But a week later churches were to be shut, and it was one of the worst things I've ever had to do to kick the last person praying in the church out and then to lock the church doors. I imagined that if we all locked down for the 14 day virus incumbation period that all would be well, but of course, that wasn't to be. 

I was never a fan of livestreaming Mass, so Fr John did that for the parish. I recorded youtube homilies. Parish admin continued. I did 10 person funerals and 5 person weddings. 

The reopening was more difficult than the lockdown. We were able to have 10 people at a time (socially distanced being the new buzzword) so we scheduled 5 Masses per morning, and rationed them through sign up sheets and bookings, but it was awful to have people show up and stand at the window hoping to get it. 

People's faith was tested. I tried to ask whether the Eucharist was for people like protein, which builds us up and which we can then do without for a time, or like vitamin c which doesn't last and is flushed out of the body each day. I was hoping that people would think the former, 

Things normalised during the year, but we had the norhern beaches outbreak at Christmas which we responded to by having all our Christmas masses outdoors. And that was to be my swansong in the parish as I was about to move parish again. 

Today I passed this marker. 600km down less than 200km to go. It does feel like the final stage. 

It was a drizzly morning and a humid sunny afternoon, making us all glad to arrive at the town of Villafranca del Bierzo. Our group of 7 have a room together and nobody else has yet arrived to take the other 3 beds, so we're hopeful to have to ourselves for the night. We're about to head out for dinner and Josh and I hope to get to Mass. 

 

A new camino adventure awaits us tomorrow....