Anxious about everything happening in the world and wondering how to maintain your spirituality during this shelter-in-place? Here are four resources that can help you reduce that anxiety and put yourself back into control of your spiritual life. Do not let your hearts be troubled!
Archdiocese of SF Website
(sfarch.org/health-alerts)
Archbishop Cordileone celebrates nonpublic Mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral daily (M -F) at 7:30 am; on Saturdays at 8:00 am; and on Sundays at 11:00 am. All Masses from the Cathedral are livestreamed. Each Mass can be experienced live online (sfarch.org/livestreams). The video of each Mass will remain available on the Archdiocesan YouTube channel, and audio of the Archbishop’s homilies will be posted on the website (sfarch.org/homilies). Many parishes are also livestreaming daily and weekend Masses, in which the faithful are invited to participate in their homes. A growing list of those is found on the webpage sfarch.org/livestreams.
The website also offers online Prayers (sfarch.org/prayers) and Devotionals (sfarch.org/devotionals), a guide for Keeping the Sabbath Holy at Home (sfarch.org/keeping-the-sabbath), and fresh resources and real-time links to important Catholic events, such as the Pope’s global prayer event from Rome that took place on March 27. For those outside the Archdiocese of San Francisco, please check your local diocesan website.
Catholic SF Spiritual Guide
(catholic-sf.org/current-issue)
Starting on page 13 of the current issue of the Catholic SF, there is a practical and spiritual guide for the faithful of San Francisco. While some of the information is specific to the Archdiocese of San Francisco, there is valuable information for any Catholic struggling with adapting to the current situation under the COVID-19 restrictions.
The section includes encouraging words from Pope Francis and Archbishop Cordileone, suggested prayers to Our Lady, recommendations on How to Keep Holy the Sabbath at Home, and useful advice from a Catholic psychologist. Please take a look - catholic-sf.org/current-issue.
Thomastic Institute Religious Instruction (thomisticinstitute.org/quarantine-lectures)
Looking to improve your religious knowledge while sheltering in place, the Thomastic Institute is offering a live streamed set of lectures on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, called the Quarantine Lectures. They are offering a free spiritual aid, Prayers in Time of Plague, as an incentive to sign up.
They also offer a podcast (https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute) and introductory video instruction on the teachings on Thomas Aquinas (aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org). There is definitely enough content to occupy your time.
Nextstep Discipleship Guide
(https://www.ecnextstep.com)
Do you need something more structured? You should take a look at Nextstep. The site is still free since it is in beta, but its plans are to provide you with a step-by-step plan to solidify your beliefs, mature in your faith, and kick you off in your mission. They currently have five action steps that require a two-week period for each step. That would cover the next two and half months!