FROM THE RECTOR
PRAYER IN A TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
To the Salesian College Family,
As Australia and the world struggle to cope with the effects and challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is very natural to be worried, stressed and fearful as a consequence. It is also very understandable if we are most concerned about our health situations, as well as the welfare of our families, both immediate and extended, our friends and the students, staff members, parents/guardians and families who make up the Salesian College community.
Of course, there are many safety measures and precautions that we can sensibly take to combat the spread of the virus; there is a great deal of appropriate advice and guidance from governments, health departments and welfare agencies that we can follow; and there is a vast reserve of common sense and life experience within our own selves and in our fellow human beings that we can take advantage of.
However, in the context of the current global threat that we are facing, such human or earthly measures may simply not be enough. Instead, maybe we will need to turn to our God and ‘bring him into the picture’; and come to him in heartfelt prayer and ask him for his help and protection in the present worldwide health crisis. In fact, prayer to our God, our Creator and Preserver, could be just the answer in a situation in which the normal answers and solutions may not be completely effective. In this respect, the great British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote in his famous poem, ‘Morte D’Arthur’ (‘The Death of Arthur’): ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’
Now, our prayers to our God may be quite simple; for example, ‘Save me, O God’ or ‘Watch over me and my Family, O Lord’, or they could take the form of quotations from Scripture like ‘I hope in the Lord, I trust in his word; with him there is mercy and fullness of redemption.’ Our prayers could also be well known prayers like the ‘Our Father’ or ‘Hail Mary’ or the recitation of ‘The Rosary’, or possibly some other favourite prayers that have been in our families and in our own languages and cultures from our early years. Or our prayers could be personal words and pleas of our own, known only to ourselves and our God.
Photo Credit: Umit Bulut on ‘Unsplash’
Or perhaps our prayer to God could take the form of this specific prayer that responds to the spread of the current virus:
PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE CORONAVIRUS
Almighty and eternal God, from whom the whole universe receives energy, existence and life, we come to you to invoke your mercy, because today we are still living the fragility of the human condition in the experience of a new viral pandemic called the Coronavirus.
We believe that it is you who guides the course of human history and that your love can change our destiny for the better, whatever our human condition may be. This is why we entrust the sick and their families to you: for the Paschal mystery of your Son gives salvation and relief to their body and their spirit.
Help each member of society do their job by strengthening the spirit of mutual solidarity. Support doctors and health workers, educators and social workers in the performance of their duties.
You who are comfort in fatigue and support in weakness, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the holy doctors and healers, keep all evil away from us.
Free us from the pandemic that is affecting us so that we can calmly resume our usual occupations and academic activities and praise you and thank you with a heart renewed.
We trust you and address our plea to you through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint John Bosco – pray for us.
In Christ Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life,
Fr Greg Chambers
Rector