Sharing Pandemic Content

The coronavirus has disrupted almost every aspect of public life, and the Church must walk with the People of God through this experience. People certainly need inspiration and insight from faith, and they will also need support and expertise around the human dimensions of this crisis. 

Grotto is uniquely positioned to help Catholic ministers bridge this digital gap with content that serves people where they are in this difficult moment. In a crisis like this, people need help coping with every aspect of life — not just spiritual guidance. If the Church can accompany people through this difficult moment, we’ll go a long way to build trust with them.

Our message to our ministry partners has always been to treat the digital world as a real place of encounter, especially with young adults. The online space is just as important as the in-person spaces where we meet together. So there is a great opportunity here to continue your ministry and care for your community by engaging them and serving them online. 

Grotto is built as a gift for the Church, so please freely share any of this content to serve your community of faith — simply tag us @GrottoNetwork if you are sharing on social media, or offer a link or attribution to our website GrottoNetwork.com. 

And, as ever, please reach out if there is any content or expertise that we can offer to assist you in reaching your community of faith in this challenging moment. Contact Josh Noem with any inquiries (jnoem@nd.edu). 

Responding to Fear and Uncertainty

3 Things I Want to Remember After the Pandemic

An Open Letter to Anyone Sick with Covid-19: Sick with Covid-19, Josh is grappling with the fear and uncertainty of what is going to happen to him. Turning that fear into solidarity is proving helpful in pulling him through the experience, so he wrote this letter to anyone else who is sick.

Coping With the Collective Trauma Caused by This Pandemic

Faith Brings Light to a Darkened World: How faith gives us a different way to see the world in times of darkness.

What to do with Your COVID-19 Fear and Anxiety: If you’re finding the fear and uncertainty around this pandemic overwhelming at times, here are some practical skills to help you cope.

3 Lessons From This Pandemic That Might Shape Our Future: Here’s what to notice about how we are adjusting to the rhythm of life in a pandemic — and what we might learn from it moving forward.

What it Means to Live Without Fear: Pope St. John Paul II learned to live without fear. When he was elected pope, his first words to the public were, “Be not afraid!” Read how his life embodied that message — and how ours can, too.

What Would You Do if You Had a Week to Live?: Robert suffers from asthma, and the pandemic has ushered in some difficult questions for him as he faces an increased risk of death to COVID-19. Read his reflections on what it means to live well and hope for the future when the danger of death seems closer than ever.

Responding to Social Isolation

Why Solitude is Necessary for a Healthy, Happy Life: Social isolation is causing us to spend a lot more time alone, but that can be to our advantage if we approach it with the right mindset.

5 Signs You’re Fighting Chronic Loneliness: This pandemic might lead to an economic recession; it will almost certainly lead to a social recession. Here are signs you are lonely. 

Why Silence is Paramount for Health (& Happiness): Don’t fill your days with distraction. Be bold enough to embrace silence in these uncertain times. 

Learning from the Self-Distancing Experts: Monks and nuns have been practicing social distance for centuries — see what we have to learn from them. 

How to Thrive in Isolation, From a Cancer Survivor: This cancer survivor endured treatment that meant she couldn’t come within 15 feet of anyone else. Here’s how she coped. 

How to Adapt Your Party for the Social Distance Era: Sheltering-in-place doesn’t mean you have to miss out on that bachelorette party or birthday celebration. Here’s how to connect.

How & Why to Stay Socially Connected in the Pandemic: Social distance does not have to equate to isolation — adjust your mindset to stay social with loved ones.

Care for the Body

I Am Not a Failure for Gaining Weight During this Pandemic: Steph works diligently to manage her weight and self-image, but during this pandemic, she found her life falling apart in many ways. She’s learned to appreciate that even though her body is gaining weight and doesn’t look like it once did, it is still strong — and is carrying her through this part of her story. 

Self-Care Basics: Why It Matters and Where to Start: This pandemic will have a huge and lasting impact on our health if we don’t intentionally take care of ourselves. 

How Healthy Is Your Relationship With Rest?

4 Ways to Exercise Outside during the Pandemic: With gyms being closed, we’re all getting tired of trying to figure out ways to stay in shape in our basements. Here are some ways to get out into the fresh air to get your heart pumping.

Care for the Mind

What I Learned from a 30-Day Journaling Challenge: This author decided to try a journaling challenge that provided daily prompts. Over the course of 30 days, she discovered that the practice helped her unwind and learn new things about herself. Here’s what she discovered about the value of journaling. 

Journaling to Better Mental Health: Where to Start: Self-care is of the utmost importance — especially now — and jotting down your thoughts and feelings in a journal has huge mental health benefits. Here, certified therapist Julia Hogan explains where you can start.

The Complete Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health: Mental health is a fundamental factor in our day-to-day wellness. Here is a comprehensive guide to managing self-care, handling stress, reversing burnout, and considering therapy.

30-Day Self-Care Road Map: Download this 30-day plan to build in self-care practices during this stressful time. 

The Positive Impact of ‘No’ During this Pandemic: We’ve all been saying “no” to a lot of things in this pandemic. Rather than grieve what we’re losing, it might help to see how each “no” is also a “yes” to something new. 

Free Download: Prevent Stress From Running Your Life: We asked a licensed therapist to create a guide to help us identify the stressors we face, and strategies to cope with them. 

How Prayer Affects Your Mental Health: This is a really good time to develop a prayer practice. 

Care for the Soul

How to Start (and Sustain) a New Prayer Practice: Perhaps you are used to reciting prayers before eating a meal or asking God for special intentions. But what about starting (and sustaining) a personal prayer practice? This author explains how she challenged herself to do just that.

What the **** Lord? And Other Prayers: Two years ago, Ricky’s mother died from cancer. In the weeks after, he wrote this piece about wrestling with anguish and loss, and how he struggled to relate to God through her sickness and death.

3 Saints to Turn to in this Pandemic: Here are 3 saints who can help establish a routine, keep up with chores, and preserve wonder and delight during this pandemic.

This Saint Found Peace During Quarantine — So Can We: While on a voyage to Italy, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and her family had to be quarantined during a yellow fever outbreak. Here is what we can learn from her experience.

Saints in Your Corner if You Have Anxiety

4 Saints to Pray to While Dealing with Depression

Caring for Others

How to Nurture Your Marriage Through a Pandemic: The pandemic is straining marriages and divorce rates are soaring. Here are some insights to help you maintain a healthy marriage in this stressful season of quarantine.

Give Back During this Crisis Using Your Time and Talent

Quarantine Doesn’t Have to Threaten Your Marriage: In this time of social distance, we’re all feeling the pressure of spending more time together in the home. That kind of proximity can actually deepen your marriage if you have the right mindset. 

Don’t Forget to Love Your Neighbor During the Pandemic: How to stay other-focused in a time of social distancing.

10 Ideas for Couples to Date-at-Home Together: Your relationship with your S.O. doesn’t have to suffer just because you can’t go out on the town right now. Here, this author provides 10 ideas to maintain your connection at home. 

Make Community Mean Something in this Pandemic: Will this pandemic lead to a renewed commitment to community? There’s a heightened awareness of social connection right now, but what we need is solidarity. Here’s the difference — and how we can make our connections count.

Managing a Changing Work or School Environment

4 Tips for Sharing a WFH Space with Your Spouse: Sure, you live with your spouse, but now you’re working with them, too. So how do you share a confined space without getting annoyed with one another’s different work styles and routines? 

Working from Home — With Kids Underfoot: Insights from a work-at-home mom who has experience balancing career and kids. 

The (Super) Power of Habits and Routines: Working from home requires discipline and routine.

Managing Extra Time

10 Books That Will Make You Rethink Your Life: More free time = more reading. Here are some recommendations.

Top-10 #Quarantine Life Posts: A humorous look at how people are imagining our quarantined life to unfold. (This would make a good social post on its own, or you could re-share any of the links within this list.)

7 Stay-At-Home Ideas to Keep you Occupied: Bored at home during this pandemic? Here are some ideas for how to use your time in lock-down to develop a new lifelong skill or habit.

This Quarantine Doesn’t Have to be Productive: Social media is telling us to learn a new skill, bake something new, and accomplish everything else while in quarantine. But just sticking to a basic routine is in itself resilience — this author explains more.

15 New Games for Your Next Night In: Board games are enjoying a revival in the pandemic lockdown. Here are 15 ideas for how to spend an evening at home without being glued to a screen.

Cooking

5 Things Every Beginner Cook Needs to Know: As more people utilize social distancing, cooking meals at home will become a necessity. Here are tips for those beginners out there. 

Recipes for Bachelors

DIY Sourdough Bread: With time on our hands, finally figuring out how to work with sourdough has become the internet’s favorite DIY project. Here’s how to get started. 

4 New Recipe Sources to Break Your Cooking Rut