Events for April 7, 2020

Scriptural and Life Reflections in ‘The Great and Holiest of Weeks’ during the COVID-19 Pandemic by Fr Graeme Malone SSS-  Roman Catholic Chaplain, Concord Hospital Friends, after several weeks of turmoil in our lives and also in the pastoral life of Our Church, - with Masses ceasing and Churches being locked, - we find ourselves in the threshold of Holy Week. Speaking personally, the inability to celebrate The Eucharist and other Sacraments in the usual way has been very difficult for me and for the People of God to whom I minister here at Concord Hospital and beyond. People still fall ill, some chronic, others terminal, while others mysteriously recover their health and regain a new lease on life itself and so, are able to eventually and thankfully, return home. There are many stresses in our Local and World-wide Communities at this time. We think of the Medical, Nursing, Emergency, and Hospital Personnel in particular, along with Local, State, National and World Leaders each striving to respond adequately to the present-day COVID-19 Pandemic. I’m reminded of the sentiments of Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, including during the Ebola crisis) who wrote: “Dear Fellow Citizens of The World,…It does not mean that we are on our own, every country for themselves. On the contrary, it is the sign of a communal response, that border closures make a difference.” Her letter concludes: “I have full faith in the relentless spirit of the individual, a conviction that leaders emerge in times of crisis at every level of society, and that our religious and communal differences pale in comparison to our collective belief in the power of prayer, and our respective faith in God. As we all hunker down in the next few weeks, I pray for the health and well-being...

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