And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Cor 13:13
IMAGE: Quang Nguyen vinh
FAITH
Urbi et Orbi
Pope Francis | Libreria Editrice Vaticana | 12 April 2020
This is not a time for indifference, because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic. … This is not a time for self-centredness, because the challenge we are facing is shared by all, without distinguishing between persons. … This is not a time for division. … This is not a time for forgetfulness. The crisis we are facing should not make us forget the many other crises that bring suffering to so many people.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Indifference, self-centredness, division and forgetfulness are not words we want to hear at this time. We want to ban these words for ever! They seem to prevail when fear and death overwhelm us, that is, when we do not let the Lord Jesus triumph in our hearts and lives. May Christ, who has already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, dispel the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his glorious day, a day that knows no end.
With these thoughts, I would like to wish all of you a happy Easter.
HOPE
Coronavirus Reveals What Really Makes the World Go Round, and It's Not Money
The bluff of neo-liberalism must be called out.
Eva Illouz | Haaretz | 4 April 2020
The choice that has been laid in front of contemporary societies is unprecedented. Which do we choose to risk sacrificing: the lives of the vulnerable or the economic survival of the young? While the moral questions raised by this dilemma are genuine and profound (how many lives is the economy worth?), it also points to the ways in which public health has been neglected and been relegated to a place of lower priority than the health of the economy.
The public interest must return to the center of public policy. And corporations must contribute to this public good, if they want the market to even remain a frame for human activities. … Mostly, we will need a part of the vast wealth amassed by private entities to be reinvested in public goods. That will be the condition for having a world.
LOVE
The Country Won’t Work Without Them
12 Stories of People Putting Their Lives on the Line to Help Others During Coronavirus
Time | 9 April 2020
My daughter takes my temperature every day I come home. If she wants to spray me down with Lysol that’s fine, anything to alleviate her fears. My daughter at one point said, ‘Mom you’re older, older people are dying, you can stay home,’ but I was like nah. Jesus was a server. That’s my purpose. That’s why I’ve been in this business 26 years. Most people look at us as a cafeteria lady, I look at it as a service. If there wasn’t an epidemic we would be still serving kids who probably would not get another meal until the next day. It’s an honor for us to serve those kids. (Yolanda Fisher)
Postscript
How Pandemics made the Modern World
Frank Snowden | Dan Snow’s History Hit | 9 April 2020
Wishing you faith, hope and love,
Rinald D’Souza SJ
HISTORIA DOMUS
For it is not so much knowledge that fills and satisfies the soul,
but the intimate understanding and relish of the truth.
The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, #2
How do you go about Faith, Hope and Love in the Time of Corona?
READ (recommended)
Are you going through a struggle?
There is someone willing to listen to you. You are not alone.