PRAYER IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Cover image: Pope Francis delivers the Urbi and Orbi ("To the City and To the World") prayer in an empty St. Peter's Square Friday evening. Yara Nardi/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
by Fr Cedric Prakash SJ
29 March 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxvkiPkH7qo&authuser=0
We come to you today
dear heavenly and loving Father
as your children, as one family
with deep faith and a total surrender to your will
We come to you today
at a time when our world is gripped with the pandemic due to COVID 19
thousands have died everywhere and many more are affected;
because of the lack of a scientific cure, fear and uncertainty rule the lives of many
We come to you today
trusting in your loving providence
fully assured that you care for all of us
and that you will protect us from every harm
We come to you today
imploring that you heal all those who are affected in any way
that you comfort all those who have lost a loved one
and give hope to the faint of heart
We come to you today
praying that you bless all the caregivers and the support staff
those in authority and those entrusted with our well-being
all who are giving of their best to address this serious reality
We come to you today
asking for your mercy on the poor and the vulnerable,
the daily wage earners, the unemployed, the hungry
those who are lonely and those who are unable to cope with this pandemic
We come to you today
thanking you
for all the abundant graces and blessings
you constantly shower upon us even during this time of crisis
We come to you today
seeking your strength
that inspite of all the difficulties we face
we may only see your hand at work today
Mary our Mother, Health of the Sick
intercede for us, to Jesus your loving Son!
Amen.
This author suggests that our loving God will not move unless you pray to him, cajole him, praise him and beg him. I think that God ought to be above all these base niceties which are characteristic of earthly beings in authority. I would think that if there is a God, that God ought to be omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent and has to know everything even before a thing begin to play out such as the current Covid – 19 crisis. He surely ought to know when it will end and how many will not survive and who they are. I would imagine such a God would not expect anything more than a simple "Thank you" every morning when one wakes up. Anything more would be as good as turning God a monster and a thug equal to a power and authority wielding earthling that needs to appeased, prayed to and praised.