When this is over

This is the good kind of viral — a poem, making the rounds on social media, that can uplift anyone affected or infected by coronavirus.

— By Laura Kelly Fanucci

“When this is over, may we never again take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

Full shelves at the store

Conversations with neighbors

A crowded theater

Friday night out

The taste of communion

A routine checkup

The school rush each morning

Coffee with a friend

The stadium roaring

Each deep breath

A boring Tuesday

Life itself.

When this ends

may we find

that we have become

more like the people

we wanted to be

we were called to be

we hoped to be

and may we stay

that way — better

for each other

because of the worst.”

Laura Kelly Fanucci is a writer and the director of the Communities of Calling Initiative, housed at the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University. She earned her Master of Divinity from Saint John’s School of Theology and her BA from the University of Notre Dame.

Laura is an award-winning columnist for Catholic News Service, and her nationally syndicated “Faith at Home” column runs monthly in Catholic newspapers across the U.S.