Whoever thought that a virus called corona could / would paralyse human life, world economy, and human traffic for visits, business, work and employment, tourism and for fun and frolic? This situation is truly unprecedented and every day seems to be getting worse than the previous one. Even the most advanced and sophisticated nations priding themselves as leaders and trend setters enjoying apparerntly the best facilities of health care, insurance, social life and freedom are under lockdown and are unable to cope with the pandemic. None of us ever expected that this would happen and come upon us all so much so there is fear written on the face of all and everywhere and ‘what next’ Is the question prominentaly looming around and on us undaunted and unanswered.
Let us surrender ourselves to the mercy of God. It would have been our joy to gracefully enter into the Holy Week and celebrate Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and finally Easter from 09 to 12 of this month as we are all anxiously looking forward to these holy days after lent but now, due to the lockdown, we need to open our hearts to unite ourselves with the whole Catholic / Christian world in prayer, meditation and adoration celebrating these solemnities in the silence of our hearts.
This is what we read in the Gospel according to St Matthew: “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm…. (Matt. 8:23-37). On 27 March 2020, our beloved Holy Father Pope Francis meditated on this passage of the Gospel followed by Eucharisitc adoration, intercessory prayers and is Apostolic Blessing ‘Urbi et Orbi’.
True, the coronavirus storm is hitting all of us all over the world quite hard. But God is not asleep. He is our Emmanuel: God-is-with-us. True, there is a cry, more than a feeling: Lord save us; we are going to drown. But let us not be afraid. Let us place our trust, our faith in the Living God and His Word. He will save us as He alone is the Saviour of the world. Happy Easter.
XGerald Isaac Lobo
Bishop of Udupi