COVID-19: A reminder from God?
THE MORE time that we are in the confines of our home because of the government-euphemized lockdown called Enhanced
Community Quarantine has given us opportunity to read messages shared to us through the social media by relatives and friends.
Of course we have to admit that like most, if not all people in the world, we too are afraid of being infected by the deadly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) which is now declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as already on a pandemic level. That is why we are submitting ourselves, rather grudgingly, to the mandate of the authorities stay home. And as we said, we are now having the time reading a lot of articles in magazines and books we have on file. Added to our sources of reading materials are the various posts in social media platforms, which over the past weeks are dominated by all kinds of stories and ideas, serious, speculative, and even funny.
The other day we read a post shared to us by a high school classmate, Estrella del Mar, who lives in Cebu City. It is an article written by Fr. Art Borja, S.J. captioned “God Must be Putting Things in Order.” It is about his thought on COVID-19, why it is happening and what he thinks people must do in the midst of the pandemic that is now turning upside down the world’s economy.
“In the midst of this crisis and chaos, I was wondering if God is actually setting things right. He is allowing all these so that the world can be shaken and sifted, then things will settle and be clearer. I wonder if He is resetting things.
“Imagine, citizens are made to see clearly how their elected officials are responding to the crisis, selflessly or compassionately. Citizens will witness the real heroes who are on the frontlines battling this ‘enemy’ to save lives. And they will see those who are just grandstanding and doing the blame game. Citizens will see.”
“Religious activities are being adjusted, challenging everyone to be more personal and purposeful in their pursuit of God. From automatic going to church, people need to look for online mass. There will be a hunger for sacramental communion beyond spiritual communion after this. The clergy are being called to go out to the community to care for the sick and needy. They are called to private masses where there are no more audiences but God himself. The Lenten season will become more personal, interior, and spiritual, not just religious.”
“Families will be able to spend more time together from 8 pm to 5 am because of the curfew (in some places of the country). Now, it’s up to the parents if they will choose to connect online with people outside their homes or really connect with their families in front of them offline. Commuters do not need to wake up at 3 am to catch the 8 am time or stay in the office late. This means again, more time with families. Families will learn to talk to one another again.”
“Friends, God is probably asking us to stop for a while. We have scurried to and fro for a long time and we must have been missing something. God is forcing us to stop and be mindful of what He is doing.”
“So what is he doing in your life? Is he asking you to finally do something you have been delaying? Do you know your kids’ favorite stuff? Do you understand what someone is saying when he/she is mentioning CLOY?”
“STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN. He is probably setting some things right in your life.”
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And if this will assuage the apprehension of people about the ongoing virtual lockdown in Davao City we are also sharing this post from another high school friend of ours. LOCKDOWN is a time to:
L – isten to God’s Voice and reflect. Let go and Let God.
O – bey His word and His teachings.
C – all on Jesus’ name and be calm.
K – now what is the purpose of all this.
D – o well in His presence. Do not panic.
O – ffer a prayer for everyone’s safety.
W – ait and be patient. This too, shall pass.
N – urture out personal relationship with Him.
This brings back to our mind an article we read in the Readers’ Digest years back. It was a story about a team of doctors performing a very delicate operation on a patient. With all their combined skills and experience as medical practitioner, they were expected to have full trust in themselves; that they could do what is required of them in situations like the one they were into.
But no, collectively they pooled their thoughts in seeking God’s intervention to guide their hands in performing the operation. After about four hours the doctors know they have God’s hands on theirs. The operation was successful and the patient survived.
Yes, in this most critical time of the people’s lives, it is always God’s intervention that is sought by our leaders, the front liners and every one of us who stands to be affected by this deadly crisis.