This elderly woman mends clothes to make ends meet. Hers are working hands. We see through her window that the snow is piled up outside. The sewing projects are piled up as well, in the basket on the floor and on the table nearby. She's sitting on the rustic straw-seated chair the artist often includes in his paintings. But this lady (who undoubtedly sits for long stretches of time) has added a thin cushion for a bit of comfort or support. There's a heavy curtain behind her which she's pulled back to maximize the light. I imagine she spends the day in silence. Does she have sufficient food? Is her room heated?
These are the people who are left behind in Ukraine's cities these days — the elderly, the homeless, the poor, the weak, those without resources. Did you read about the children in the pediatric cancer hospital being left behind — the children having been moved to the basement for safety. There are reports of shells raining down around an orphanage and the complete destruction of a maternity hospital.
Years ago I thought I was called to be a hermit monk. While I spent two weeks alone in a hermitage in the woods to test it out a bit, I asked the religious sister who managed the property, "What does a hermit do?" She said, "He reads the New York Times in the morning and then goes to pray." While I've never met another priest who understands this, I think many of the people who tune in here will understand. I invite you to join me these early days of Lent to pray specifically for those who are left behind.
