Praying in the Time of the Virus Crisis

The current spread of the novel Coronavirus is quite disturbing. There is a sense of the unknown. How bad will this get? Will it affect me? How will it further change our way of life? Just as we try to calm down and remind ourselves not to worry beyond the facts, the next day's news reveals something more shocking. Fear is a very unsettling emotion. It can paralyze us and take away our abilities to remain balanced and reasonable and to discern the right choices before us.

On one level it is critical that we follow good sound advice from the medical community and do what we can to prevent ourselves from getting the virus or from spreading it to others. But, on a far deeper level, we need to turn to prayer, to our relationship with God, to find comfort and peace that we need the most. This is a time to place ourselves in our Lord's hands and to ask for the grace to trust.

We certainly can pray that the epidemic will come to an end soon, and that people who contract the virus will receive the care they need. And, we can pray for those who are suffering, for the most vulnerable all over the world, and we can pray with those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.