COVID-19: The Pope’s closeness to
those who are suffering
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| Pope Francis blessing the world with the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, 27 March 2020 |
In his daily homilies at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis
continues to show how the Church is close to those suffering from the
coronavirus pandemic.
By Vatican News
Every morning, in the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis
dedicates his Mass to particular groups of people who are suffering the effects
of the coronavirus pandemic.
For the homeless
Most recently, on Tuesday, he prayed “for those who are homeless”:
“At this moment in which everyone is supposed to be at
home, may society, men and women, realize this reality and help them, and that
the Church might welcome them.”
For those who fear
On Monday 30 March, the Pope’s intention was “for the
many people who are not succeeding in coping and remain in fear because of the
pandemic”:
“May the Lord help them to have the strength to cope for
the good of society and the entire community.”
On Thursday March 26, the Pope had already turned his
attention to the fear that often accompanies suffering:
“The fear of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes,
or hospitals, or in their own homes, and don't know what will happen. The fear
of those who don’t have regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their
children. They foresee they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants. At
this moment they're working to keep society functioning and they might get
sick. There’s also the fear – the fears – of each one of us. Each one knows
what their own fears are. We pray to the Lord that He might help us to trust,
and to tolerate and conquer these fears.”
For those who weep
On Sunday 29 March, Pope Francis began the liturgy saying
he was thinking “of the many people who are weeping, people who are isolated,
in quarantine, the elderly; people who are alone, in hospital, parents who do
not foresee receiving their salary and do not know how they will feed their
children”…
“Many people are weeping. We too, from our hearts,
accompany them. It wouldn’t do us any harm to weep a bit as our Lord wept for all
of His people”.
For those who suffer hunger
On Saturday 28 March, the Pope prayed for those suffering
from hunger because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We're beginning to see people who are hungry because
they can't work. They may not have had a regular job, and from many other
circumstances. We're beginning to see the aftermath that will come later. But
it's beginning now. We pray for the families who are beginning to find
themselves in need because of the pandemic”.
For those who pray
During his morning Mass on Friday 27 March, Pope Francis noted that the difficult
times we are facing have inspired in many people a more general concern for
others: for families that don’t have enough to get by, for the elderly who are
alone, for the sick in hospitals. They are praying for others, “that help might
somehow arrive”.
“This is a good sign, and we thank the Lord, who is
arousing these sentiments in the hearts of the faithful”.
For those in difficulty
The Pope is also aware of the suffering of those families
facing financial difficulties. On Monday 23
March, he prayed especially for them:
“Let us pray today for those persons who are beginning to
experience economic problems because of the pandemic, because they cannot
work… All of this affects the family. We pray for those people who have
this problem.”
For medical personnel
The Pope has expressed his admiration for medical personnel
and those who risk their lives caring for coronavirus patients. Before Mass at
the Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday,
24 March, he said:
“I received the news that in these days, a number of
doctors and priests have died, I don't know if there were a few nurses. They
were infected…because they were serving the sick. Let’s pray for them, for
their families. I thank God for the example of heroism they give us in caring
for the sick.”
Urbi et orbi prayer
Before imparting his Urb et orbi blessing
in St Peter’s Square on Friday 27 March, Pope Francis prayed that we might
“hand over our fears” to the Lord, so that “He can conquer them”:
“Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good
everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity
into our storms, because with God life never dies.”
The article posted on Vatican News titled "The
Earth's Unlikely Ally: The changes in human behaviour due to the #Covid-19
pandemic are yielding unintended benefits to the planet" has been removed
because it does not reflect the editorial line on the subject as indeed the
hundreds of articles and interviews of these days published in all the
languages of our portal demonstrate.
We realize that, while not in the editor's intentions,
this article has hurt the sensibilities of many readers of Vatican News. For
this we apologize to all of them and we thank them for the way they are
following our work in this difficult time of emergency.
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