Despite the ever-increasing degree of globalisation taking place in the world characterised by intertwining economic systems buttressed by internet technology, it is rare to have a happening to which every section of humanity on all continents of the earth can directly relate, writes Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD. 

The coronavirus pandemic that made its appearance in late 2019 and has continued to ravage the world in 2021 is an exception to the usual state of affairs because it has managed to turn the entire world upside down with all the disruptions brought upon the global political, social, economic and religious structures.

When Fr Rajaskhar Reddy SVD, found himself stranded at home in India during the COVID border closures, he saw first-hand how hard-hit the Indian people were by the impacts of the virus.

Fr Raja was in India for three months’ home-leave at the beginning of this year and was due to return to his parish in Thailand in March, but just a week before his departure, Thailand announced it was closing its borders.

The pandemic has thrown all our plans up in the air, forcing us to rely more on the providence of God.           

The title of 1864 oil-on-canvas painting by Edwin Landseer is “Man Proposes, God Disposes”. This saying is true today, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back to the last six months almost of all people in the world have had to make changes in their lives.

It was an emotional moment for Fr Prakash Menezes SVD when, after weeks of celebrating Mass in front of a phone camera at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church in Alice Springs, he was finally able to look out and see his parishioners again.

The Northern Territory government relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, May 15, and that very same day Fr Prakash celebrated Mass for the people.

If the coronavirus and the enforced social isolation that has come with it has taught us anything, it is that we are social creatures who crave connection.

When we were asked to stay at home it wasn’t shopping or consumption that we missed the most, rather it was visiting our family, hugging our parents, attending our niece’s first birthday party, hanging out with our workmates or enjoying a dinner with friends at a restaurant.

How does one be missionary in a pandemic, when we are being urged to stay home and not go out? It is a question that SVDs in the AUS Province have been asking and they’ve come up with some creative responses.

Firstly of course, the Divine Word Missionary priests have, like most other parish priests, been livestreaming their private Mass on social media, and they have also been ensuring community ties remain strong through various initiatives.

Happy Easter to you! We are still mid-way through the Easter season and there’s no doubt that we really needed Easter this year.

With lay people observing the sacred liturgies from their lounge rooms, instead of in churches, and longing to once again partake in the Eucharist, while priests celebrated private Masses streamed online, we were ready to be reminded again of the tomb-busting power of the resurrection in our lives and in the whole world.

These days the whole world is in the fear of being in the grip of coronavirus and we have read about the tens of thousands of deaths reported from all over the world. Over the past weeks, new cases were being reported every day and leaders and the medical communities have been challenged to the utmost limit.

Places like churches, mosques, temples and synagogues where people go to find peace and consolation have been closed. One can ask the question, does God care for humanity? Why does God want to make human beings suffer?

The Easter celebrations this year are very interesting and certainly very different. It’s really our first Easter Triduum without the richness and the beauty of our liturgical Services, which we normally experience as a community of faith in our parishes.

What strange and unsettling days we are living in. Within a matter of weeks our society has been rendered almost unrecognisable thanks to the spread of the coronavirus and the restrictions that are now in place to save lives.

In beautiful autumn weather we see many Australian beaches fenced off and deserted. Shopping centre shelves have been stripped, thousands of people have lost their jobs, churches are closed and even the footy has been cancelled. Where can we find hope in all of this?