If you’ve had the fortune (or maybe misfortune) of watching any television lately, you may have come across this phrase in commercials calling the situation we are in as the “new normal.” This reality we are in is not the new normal, but it does have some things to teach us.

For instance, it is not the new normal in the basic fact that the human being longs for community, no matter how much we may feel better alone. A community, or a family, makes one belong. The other fact is, though, that we can use this time to learn a bit more and to take an opportunity to realize what is most important: family, friends, community, love, belonging.

Although this time may seem to be lasting forever, it will not become the new normal. It is a temporary moment that we are in, and an opportunity to grow, to listen, to be patient, to listen to Christ.

Let us not find ourselves being complacent, but rather working together to make this life a better experience for all.