COVID-19 Prayers
20 Prayers to pray during this pandemic – from Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/march-web-only/covid-19-coronavirus-20-prayers-to-pray-during-pandemic.html
20 Prayers to pray during this pandemic – from Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/march-web-only/covid-19-coronavirus-20-prayers-to-pray-during-pandemic.html
God of all mercies, grant:
To our families and communities, safety and good health: To those afflicted with COVID-19, swift healing; To health-care providers, strength and stamina; To our leaders, wisdom and compassion; To our nation, unity and purpose; To the dying, comfort; To the dead, eternal life; To all believers, strong faith in You; To the Church, the gift of service; To the whole human family, unity of heart; and To us, your servants, the reward of knowing that we are doing Your will when we spend ourselves in loving service of others. May the God of all consolation walk with us through these difficult times. And may God find us worthy of the call to be a healing and reconciling presence in a wounded world. Amen. -Fr. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. president of Fordham University A Prayer for a Pandemic May we who are merely inconvenienced Remember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factors Remember those most vulnerable. May we who have the luxury of working from home Remember those who must choose between preserving their health of making their rent. May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close Remember those who have no options. May we who have to cancel our trips Remember those that have no place to go. May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market Remember those who have no margin at all. May we who settle in for a quarantine at home Remember those who have no home. During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen. (Cameron Belm) When this is over, may we never again take for granted A handshake with a stranger Full shelves at the store Conversations with neighbors A crowded night out The taste of communion A routine checkup The school rush each morning Coffee with a friend The stadium roaring Each deep breath A boring Tuesday Life itself. When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be we were called to be we hoped to be and may we stay that way—better for each other because of the worst. -Laura Kelly Fanucci |
Lockdown
Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying. Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But, They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise You can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet The sky is no longer thick with fumes But blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi People are singing to each other across empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them. They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number through the neighborhood So that the elders may have someone to call on. Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way All over the world people are waking up to a new reality To how big we really are. To how little control we really have. To what really matters. To Love. So we pray and we remember that Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate. Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness. Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness. Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe. Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic The birds are singing again The sky is clearing, Spring is coming, And we are always encompassed by Love. Open the windows of your soul And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, Sing. Richard Hendrick, Capuchin Franciscan, March 13th 2020 |