Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg has called for a positive approach to the lockdown. In the soul, people feel that life is more than buying and owning, pleasure and fun, than celebrating and partying, eating and drinking.
"If we not only endure the necessary restrictions, but use them for reflection, prayer, reading and meaningful activity, we can strengthen our soul and give our spirit new impulses," Schick said in his sermon in Bamberg Cathedral on the third Sunday of Advent. "In the soul, man grows beyond himself, finds God and goodwill for fellow human beings!"
Understanding lockdown as "desert time" in a spiritual sense
Schick pointed out that Christianity knows voluntary lockdown and calls it "desert". Jesus also withdrew into the desert for 40 days. Many saints and great personalities would have visited places of solitude and silence again and again, avoided all distractions and renounced amenities. A lockdown only endured, he said, could lead to depression and other mental illnesses, alcohol and drug use, and domestic violence. But: "If we understand the lockdown as a time of desert in the spiritual sense, then it becomes energy for the soul and strength for a good life," the archbishop was convinced.