Coronavirus Pandemic…

The invisible Mighty

We have heard:

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

What if the tunnel is embedded in darkness!

We have heard:

Every cloud has a silver lining.

What if the sun is engulfed by darkness!

The ray of life in the form of hope,

The silver lining in the form of confidence

Arise in our minds and hearts.

We have been through an ordeal –

We became anxious, angry, frustrated

Not knowing what was in store for us.

The statistics and news frightened us –

The stories we heard and

Events we witnessed

Made us lose heart.

But the ordeal has to come to an end soon.

We have embraced our pain

And burnt it as fuel for our journey.

Things have changed dramatically:

Places of worship were closed –

But every home

Emerged as a place of worship.

We could listen to song of silence.

Perhaps for the first time

We prayed for our neighbours

For their good health –

As our health depends on theirs.

We have learnt to live

With fewer things in life.

Now we know that

We are not invincible but vulnerable.

We have become changed persons –

Of course, for the better.

We realize our vulnerability:

An invisible virus challenged us.

Our medical advances proved insufficient.

We realized the limits and inability

Of science and technology

To face the aggressivity of corona.

We felt that all, the rich and the poor,

Are on the same boat.

And coronavirus has been a great leveler.

We realized more the presence of

The invisible God

As our final hope and refuge.

The invisible mighty God

Became visible and alive

In the form of health workers,

Sanitation employees,

Law enforcement persons,

Selfless volunteers and organizations –

Who spent their time and energy

To take care of the sick and the dying.

In God’s creation

There is no big nor small –

No rich nor poor.

A virus speck

Could bring down

The mighty to the knees.

We have the precedence of

David and Goliath.

Let us recognize people

Not as we want to see them

But as we ought to understand them.

Let us grow in compassion.

Let us wish

That the vulnerable become strong.

Let us accept

The poor as they are rich in love.

Let us become kind to all – since

Kindness is the language

The blind could see and

The deaf could hear.

This would be the new world order.

Let us cling on to hope.

We shall come out

Of the cocoon of lockdown

With flying colours of hope.

Our Master, Jesus,

Was also in quarantine

After his death.

But he came out of the lockdown

Of the grave!

He brought in joy!

Let us explode the bomb of love,

To devastate hatred and

To destroy every evil.

Let us start anew and afresh:

We realize the Persian saying,

Which is ascribed to the Buddha:

This too shall pass.

We have to live out the hope, namely

When you come to the end of the rope,

Tie a knot and hang on!

The Lord of history and the God mystery

Would lead us all

Towards global unity and harmony.

God will be our fellow traveller!

The world will bloom again.

Let us stand together and march forward

Towards universal peace, joy, and health.

Francis P Xavier SJ

Email: francisx@gmail.com

02Apr2020