Where Waiting in Line Outside the Grocery Store and "Everyday Holiness" Meet

Have you shopped for groceries during the pandemic? At least in New Jersey, the experience goes something like this: Carefully devise your grocery list to avoid a return trip for as long as possible, drive-off and then turn around because you forgot your mask, and finally arrive at the grocery store. You hope to get in and out quickly, but your expectations are dashed.
 
The line. The long line. Seventy-five or so people pushing empty carts, snaking around the store, all six feet apart. I wouldn’t have minded the 40-minute wait to get in the store nearly so much had I worn more than a t-shirt and light fleece on the blustery 41-degree day.
 
I was reminded of my grocery store experiences when I recently interviewed author Chris Lowney and Sister Terry Rickard for a RENEW International webinar: Becoming the ‘Saint Next Door’ During the Pandemic: Lessons on Everyday Holiness from Pope Francis. I asked Chris how he was practicing “everyday holiness” during the pandemic, and he replied, “I was waiting 45 minutes to get into the grocery store, texting my wife about how annoyed I was. She texted back, ‘Why don’t you use the time to pray the rosary for those most affected by the pandemic?’’’ Embarrassed over his annoyance, he took up his wife’s suggestion. For Chris, waiting in queue outside the grocery store and everyday holiness met.
 
Starting on April 30, RENEW International will offer six-week online faith-sharing groups on answering the call to everyday holiness during the pandemic. We will use Chris Lowney’s insightful and easy-to-follow book, What, Me Holy? as a guide. In his book, Chris shares how we may associate “holiness” only with saints (and therefore it is unattainable for us) or with overly pious types. Not so, says Chris. Holiness is for all of us, and it’s not necessarily about heroic actions or pious behavior. Instead of “not sweating the small stuff,” everyday holiness is about “sweating the small stuff” and paying attention to details:
 

“What details might pave your or my path to holiness? Maybe, for example, the detail of noticing my spouse who came home discouraged today, or the elderly woman who always sits alone and unspoken to in church, or the homeless person who has shoes but no socks, or the fact that I’ve skipped my five minutes of personal prayer two days in a row.”

 
We invite you to join a RENEW International online faith-sharing group for an uplifting experience, reflecting on our call to “everyday holiness” during the pandemic. Self-quarantining at home is not an obstacle but an opportunity. Don’t miss this one!
 
Paul Krenzelok is a member of the RENEW International staff with extensive leadership experience as a faith formation professional and pastoral minister.