And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Cor 13:13
IMAGE: Ryoji Iwata
By now, most of us must have lived through at least two months of this ongoing pandemic. At some point we will have yearned for a return to normalcy, maybe even some kind of return to innocence. I can hear those voices sing: “it’s not the beginning of the end… it’s the return to yourself… the return to innocence.” But for all the nostalgia that seeks a return to the past, we are constantly confronted by this pandemic.
Paul Carr outlines three societal faultlines that have aggravated this pandemic: social inequalities, environmental intransigence and economic avarice. More than being a great leveller, Carr prefers to call it the “great imbalancer” that “feeds off social and environmental injustice, exacerbating the wounds, scars and illnesses that existed prior to this pandemic.” From an epidemiological context, medical historian David Jones explores how epidemics can have differential impact by race and class, and even ethnicity and religion. Those with power and privilege often exploit these differentials by blaming the underprivileged. Some governments have responded with harsh lockdowns and surveillance of their populations. As Jones points out, these past months can also be humbling for the manner with which this pandemic can reveal the limits of our healthcare system as well as our knowledge to address it.
But could the humility of our limits be the starting point of our conversion? Augusitine de Noia reflects on how the coincidence of the pandemic with the season of Lent and Easter could be providential for our own transformation. Emerging from this pandemic — in God’s time — how could we be invited to sing: “The Lord is risen as he said, alleluia.”
Carr points out that a returning to “normal” might no longer be a viable option. However, we are invited to reconsider and re-imagine social solidarity — one that’s hinged on education, democracy and social equality. The girls from Cape Town show us the way. They give us hope. They show us that it is possible to love. They reveal what Easter could be.
The only return we can now make is to a future reimagined with faith, hope and love — a future based on our solidarity. What shall we return to?
FAITH
In God’s Time
It is providential that the pandemic of 2020 has coincided with Lent and Easter.
J Augustine Di Noia OP | First Things | 14 May 2020
What is the properly Christian meaning of the providential concurrence of the pandemic with Lent and Eastertide? What light can our faith shed on the darkness that otherwise prevails during these days? The paschal experience of our crucified and risen Lord shows us the path of grace that turns our own experience of suffering into an opportunity for conversion and transformation, a passage from death to life with our Redeemer who suffered and died for our sake.
Christ names our uncertainty: our sense, especially in times of crisis, that we are not invulnerable and that our institutions are anything but indestructible. It’s not just that we are getting sick and dying at the hands of an invisible foe. We are facing the humility of our limits.
There is still time to turn to him and live, for barely concealed in God’s judgment are his upwelling grace and mercy in the Lamb slain for our sake and risen now in glory.
HOPE
Returning to ‘normal’ post-coronavirus would be inhumane
The coronavirus feeds off of social and environmental injustice, exacerbating the wounds, scars and illnesses that existed prior to the pandemic. That's why returning to 'normal' is not an option.
Paul R Carr | The Conversation | 14 May 2020
The world is enmeshed in a significant health crisis that stretches to all levels of society. Containing, controlling and remedying COVID-19 will require concerted efforts, and, importantly, significant social solidarity.
Although we’re still trying to make it through this pandemic, we should also be concerned about how much we really want to get back to what we regard as normal.
That could mean a re-imagined human civilization that no longer prioritizes militarization, conflict, concentrated wealth in the hands of the few, massive social inequalities, environmental catastrophe, delusions of empire and colonization and fictitious notions of democratic freedom, engagement and participation.
The coronavirus is far from being the “great leveller,” as some have suggested.
LOVE
How girls in informal settlements are leading change during COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa
Adolescent girls in informal settlements are facing particularly difficult challenges due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Environmental activist Xoli Fulane describes the heart-rending experiences of girls in impoverished townships in Cape Town, South Africa, and how she is working with them remotely to navigate these times.
Lindsay Barnes | UNFPA East and Southern Africa | 15 May 2020
Another of the girls’ biggest needs, especially now under the lockdown, is for space. “We teach our girls to take up space and build their own autonomy. But how does one practice that when living in a two-room shack with six family members?”
To ensure the health and safety of adolescent girls during the lockdown, Ms. Fuyani highlights the following critical steps:
Distribute water to informal settlements and villages that are currently without.
Ensure access to education. With education transitioning to online platforms, mobile data remains the biggest challenge as most parents do not have funds for this. Ensure girls without cell phones can keep abreast with their education.
Do not allow health systems to neglect women’s health. Prioritize the health needs of adolescent girls to ensure they are not left behind.
Postscript
History in an Epidemic
In this webinar, Dr. David S. Jones speaks about how medical historians have long tried to convince people that the history of epidemics is both interesting and important. Now that the world is experiencing a global pandemic, the same people that were once somewhat uninterested are turning toward wanting to know about these historical illnesses and epidemics and how they may inform our current situation with COVID-19.
David S Jones | Harvard Medical School | 9 April 2020
I’ll be the first to admit that I have found this past month to be humbling. The epidemic has revealed limitations of our health care system. It has revealed the limitations of our knowledge of epidemiology and public health. And it has also revealed the limits of our historical knowledge.
Reminder
The CoronaVirus Is Out There
Watch how Habeeb tries to go outside to play in a corona infested world.
Niyi Akinmolayan | Anthill Studios | 14 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
What is Faith, Hope and Love in the Time of Corona all about?
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