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    • Apr 14, 2020
    • 13 min read

Coronavirus Special Issue - April 15, 2020

Updated: Apr 15, 2020



A Message from the Editor

The world we have always known has gone. Thousands of people are dying. Many of us feel isolated and some feel abandoned, We ponder why God has allowed this to happen.

But neighbors are helping neighbors and many of us and organizations are responding to God’s commandment “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”

To keep current on many of your local and global coronavirus challenges, read our Coronavirus web which is updated daily.

One of our major challenges is the rationing of healthcare to those who are seriously ill. Some physicians have to make decisions on who will live and who will die do the lack of lifesaving equipment and essential drugs as many of them are putting themselves and their families at risk of infection daily.

For this reason, we have added a new web on Ethics and Healthcare.

Healthcare Workers and First Responders are dying daily to protect are dying daily to care for those with coronavirus, For this reason, we are featuring two prayers for their protection.

Say a prayer thanksgiving for Dr. Anthony Fauci for his leadership in addressing the coronavirus pandemic who has sadly been receiving death threats.

We welcome Father Shay Cullen as an Editorial Advisor. Be sure to read his powerful article.


What is the Meaning of Life?

Profiles in Catholicism is providing leadership in addressing the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church through original reports and other published articles and videos in our Clerical Sexual Violence Against Minors web. We are deeply indebted to our president, Mike Hoffman, whose courage in addressing this crisis is a blessing to our Church. Be sure to read his reflective and inspiring 5th Anniversary Child Abuse Prevention Edition,


Profiles in Catholicism are sent to several thousand people in 53 counties. Your donation of $5.00 or more helps to support our global educational service, If you find Profiles in Catholicism helpful, please make a donation by going to https://www.catholicprofiles.org/donate

Finally, as we face the extraordinary challenges of coronavirus, some of us may forget that there are so many globally facing other medical threats such as my friend Alwin Rex in India. Here is a massage that I recently received from him.

“I am currently paralyzed at home. I feel isolated at home because of the safety of taking medication. But I am struggling in a financial crisis. .Because I take medicine. Lord protect us all from this deadly virus. I pray for you.”

I am asking our readers, if possible, to send a donation of $10.00 or more to help cover his healthcare costs to Father Thomas Ayyaneth, Syro Malankara Catholic Eparchial Chancery,1500 DePaul Street, Elmont, New York 11003, the USA with a notation that the donation is for Alwin Rex. Father Thomas will process donations and send them to his pastor.


May God bless each of our readers and keep them safe.


A Quote to Remember

“With the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus, we are confronted once more with the fragility of our lives, and again we are reminded of our common humanity — that the peoples of this world are our brothers and sisters, that we are all one family under God.

God does not abandon us, he goes with us even now in this time of trial and testing. At this moment, it is important for us to anchor our hearts in the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Now is the time to intensify our prayers and sacrifices for the love of God and the love of our neighbor. Let us draw closer to one another in our love for him, and rediscover the things that truly matter in our lives.

United with our Holy Father Pope Francis, let us pray in solidarity for our brothers and sisters here and around the world who are sick. Let us pray for those who have lost loved ones to this virus. May God console them and grant them peace.

We pray also for doctors, nurses, and caregivers, for public health officials and all civic leaders. May God grant them courage and prudence as they seek to respond to this emergency with compassion and in service to the common good.”


by Archbishop José H. Gomez

Special Prayer

Pope Francis’ Prayer to Mary during the coronavirus pandemic

O Mary,

you always shine on our path

as a sign of salvation and of hope.

We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,

who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.

You, Salvation of the Roman People,

know what we need,

and we are sure you will provide

so that, as in Cana of Galilee,

we may return to joy and to feasting

after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,

to conform to the will of the Father

and to do as we are told by Jesus,

who has taken upon himself our sufferings

and carried our sorrows

to lead us, through the cross,

to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, the Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.


by Pope Francis

A Prayer for Fr. Giuseppe Beradelli

Lord of all peoples and all ages, you are a God of the living, not of the dead. Your servant Giuseppe Beradelli loved life.

As parish priest of Fiorano, he zipped around town in a red motorcycle, greeting people with an exuberant “Pace e bene!”. He shared the joy of being your son, and then when the time came, he shared the pain of being your son. He refused the help of a ventilator so that a younger man with the coronavirus might be saved. He died as your servant. Those who lose their life for your sake will find it. Grant him eternal rest, O Lord. Amen

by Father Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M. Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer for Healthcare Workers and First Responders

God, you promise to stay close

to those who are loving and true.

Be close now and accompany

those healthcare workers and first responders,

who have fallen ill, and

who have been faithful in their work

to care for others, especially those most in need.

Restore their health, so they may once more serve.

Give them renewed hope and courage.

Instill in us a deep appreciation for all those

entrusted with our safety, security, and health.

Continue to watch over your family.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen

by Father Louis Cameli Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer for Healthcare Workers and First Responders

Lord, one time your daughter, our sister St. Teresa, addressed you, as only she could, musing that the reason you have so few friends is that you treat them so badly.

Dare I suggest the same is happening today?

So many of you children, nurses, doctors, aides, and first responders find themselves under stress, dire stress in serving you as the server your other children. How is your love shown when they are so afflicted and in such danger? How is it a sign of your love when we, your children, put additional burdens on them? When do we add to their stress?

Allow us to pray O Lord,

from the depths of our hearts, help us to make our own, the words of your prophet David:


God is our refuge and our strength,

an ever-present help in distress.

Thus we do not fear, though the earth be shaken

and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,

Though its waters rage and foam

and mountains totter at its surging.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob. (Psalm 46)


Sustain us O Lord sustain us. Sustain us O Lord, sustain us. Amen


by Father David O. Brown, O.S.M. Profiles in Catholicism

Pray for Carol Eggett


Please pray for Carol Eggett who has COVID 19 and has been unconscious since Sunday, 3/29. She is a mother and a grandmother and is known for her musical skills and reaching out to others with warmth and humanity.

by Denise Mackura Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer for Boris Johnson

The Plight of All

Father

You alone

Know the heart

Of each one of us:

The time to live and the time to die

Is a time we scarcely recognize

But come it will,

Either alone or in a company,

Easing our passage

Or filling it with pain.

Take pity on our lives

Lived recklessly or not,

Flamboyantly or discreetly,

Publicly or in our street.

An angel companion beside us,

Addressing our lives in reality,

Preparing us for eternity.

Whether we live or die,

Serve in public or our neighbor,

We live amidst so many others,

Weeping or worse.

Help us in the breach of passing,

To leave love’s touch

On the hearts from whom

We’re drawn

– suspended –

As if in the hands of a Gardener,

Deciding whether to transplant

Us to eternity or to delay awhile.

Pity us and those we love!

Love those we love imperfectly!

Repair and rebuild what is broken!

Forgive and prepare us to live!

Or let us pass,

Prepared,

Patiently,

From here

To you.

And let Your love

Enfold the left

As leaving,

We leave in the hope

Of love enfolding

Each of us.

Mother Mary,

Meet us in the doorway,

Greet us or ask

Your Son for the

Pardon or the pause

Which completes

The gift of life

We have been given.

by Francis Etheredge Profiles in Catholicism

National Child Abuse Prevention Month Prayer


God of endless love, ever caring, ever strong, always present, always just: You gave your only Son to save us by the blood of his cross.

Gentle Jesus, a shepherd of peace, join to your own suffering the pain of all who have been hurt in body, mind, and spirit by those who betrayed the trust placed in them.

Hear the cries of our brothers and sisters who have been gravely harmed, and the cries of those who love them. Soothe their restless hearts with hope, steady their shaken spirits with faith. Grant them justice for their cause, enlightened by your truth.

Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts, heal your people’s wounds and transform brokenness into wholeness. Grant us the courage and wisdom, humility and grace, to act with justice. Breathe wisdom into our prayers and labors. Grant that all harmed by abuse may find peace in justice. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Interviews


General Articles/Commentaries


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Book Reviews/Commentaries


Film Reviews/Commentaries

Television Reviews/Commentaries


Obituaries

Feasting with the Saints


Closing Prayer

A Prayer for Those Who Have Made Donations to Profiles in Catholicism

God most kind,

Bless all those who have supported Profiles in Catholicism

with their donations and kind words of support.

Let their generosity bear much fruit.

Let those of us who benefit from this publication

be ever mindful of them and grateful for their gift. Amen

by Father Louis Cameli Profiles In Catholicism

Videos

Prayer and “urbi et orbi” blessing presided over by pope francis


Emergencies and charity. A reflection by cardinal luis antonio tagle


Cardinal blase cupich offers a reflection on the covid-19 crisis

Dr. Fauci explains the timeline and risks of creating a covid-19 vaccine by msnbc


Experts explain: largest measles outbreak


Putting down roots


He died and met god, and he wasn't ready.


Holy rosary with fr. Chris


Canto gregoriano - coro de monjes del monasterio benedictino de santo domingo de silos






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