Humility: A Lesson from the Pandemic—Fr. Shaju Kanjiramparayil, OSFS
Fr. Shaju Kanjiramparayil, OSFS, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology.
Humility is one of the core values of our dear DeSales University. Humility calls the disciple to give thanks for the grace of God that creates, sustains, and moves us forward to love.
The pandemic (COVID-19) helped me realize that the things, events, and people I used to take for granted were, in fact, channels of God’s graces to me. It made me reflect on my own limitations and the limitations of science. The past 10 months were a time of many firsts in my life: This is the first time in my life that I have not visited my family for two years together. This is the first time that I realized that I could not visit another house/community/family whenever I wanted, because I had to be concerned about the safety of the people I am visiting, and the safety of the people where I am living. This is the first time in my life that I was not able to go to a church on Sundays to celebrate a Holy Mass. This is the first time in my life that I have not gone to a movie for so many consecutive months. These are a few of the many firsts that the pandemic brought to my life. This was certainly a time to think back and recognize how little I am when I am not connected fully with the rest of creation.
Yet, at the same time, the pandemic also inculcated in me the importance of being connected to my dear and near ones, building and maintaining relationships very often through virtual means, developing a sense of agency, a sense of responsibility for my health and that of others, and building a sense of unity and cooperation. It taught me to value the things and events that I normally did not pay much attention to, whether visiting a friend or family, going to church to celebrate the Holy Mass on a Sunday, going shopping, seeing a movie, visiting parks, taking a vacation, etc. Suddenly, they became important events to me. I began to miss them. Through all these, the pandemic underlined the need for me to be optimistic, to set long-term goals, to be non-judgmental, and to convey warmth and empathy to people, especially the ones I cared about.
The pandemic certainly taught the world to work together to develop a vaccine. The world humbly decided to hang together and not individually. The pandemic underlined the need for human connectedness to be psychologically and spiritually healthy. Listening to and sharing with people I care about made a difference. In spite of the disappointments of the pandemic, I must say the pandemic helped many establish and re-establish relationships, made me, as well as many others, humble enough to give thanks for the grace of God that creates, sustains, and moves us forward to love.
Fr. Shaju Kanjiramparayil, OSFS, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology.