Seeing in the news that even the largest cities and famous landmarks are empty is strange; a bit haunting, if you will. COVID-19 has put nations on an indefinite pause, forced overwhelmed hospitals to make harrowing choices, slumped economies, cancelled events as big as the Olympics, disrupted daily life, and the most shattering of all, killed thousands of people. Never in modern history had we seen countries across the world simultaneously place people, 3 billion people, under lockdown… until now, in a dire effort to confront a common foe—the SARS-CoV-2, a virus that threatens humanity. Suddenly, life as we know it feels like a distant past. Unless they have been living under a rock these past few months, all people on earth, young and old, in whichever country, all at once, in my view, are following the same news, thinking of the same disease, and experiencing the same fear. It will indubitably leave an awful mark in history, and stay in the world’s psyche. And it seems that life will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic.
To all our Readers, especially in those countries most afflicted by this pandemic, such as the United States and Italy, and those countries that are still grappling with this crisis, where many of our loyal Readers are, like the United Kingdom, France, Germany and my native country, the Philippines, I’m thinking of you, and praying for you. Regardless of our nationality, race and color, we are one in the Catholic Faith. May God and the Blessed Mother bless, and protect you this Holy Week.
Seeking an end to the pandemic
Unbelievers and non-practicing Catholics are seeking an end to all these using the eyes of the secular world. In the news, we see how they are putting their faith only in science and in people, who are mere creatures of God. They say, “if scientists would successfully fast track clinical trials for drugs that would treat COVID-19, if laboratories would be able to concoct a vaccine for public use in a year’s time, if people would just follow social distancing orders, if we’d be lucky enough,” then this pandemic would end. Most are considerable points, but that’s it. God is nowhere in those lines.
However, for faithful Catholics like me, we are searching through the eyes of our hearts in the light of the Catholic Faith. Of course, with all due respect to scientists, we believe in what science could do. In the same way, we believe as citizens that supporting the practical measures being enforced by our governments is necessary. But that is not all. We Catholics, first and foremost, put our faith in God. That is why we pray to Him. We pray because we know that what is most needed is to ask Him to stop the spread of the virus, and save us from COVID-19. We pray to the Almighty God for the end of this pandemic.
Understanding God’s message
We also know that in prayer, God speaks back to us in our hearts. Through prayer, we seek to listen to His will—to understand that all these events are part of His perfect will and His perfect permissive will. As faithful, we do not believe in “coincidences.” Every action and occurrence in the entire universe is governed by His Divine Providence, contributing to the completion and fulfillment of His plan and providential purpose.
Personally, just seeing Italy, where the Vatican is, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, to be among the countries most afflicted by COVID-19 makes me think that God must be putting across a message.
With everything that’s happening now, God must be telling the world something. But what is God saying?
My Reflection
So we ask ourselves, with this coronavirus pandemic, “What could God be telling us? What could He be telling me? What is He telling the world?”
Here, I share with you my thoughtful reflections, at length. What’s certain is that all of you, who are reading this Post, should seek to answer these questions, only in the light of the Catholic Faith.
1. To the righteous, this is a call from God to trust in Him
We can never fathom why there were righteous people whose lives were lost in this pandemic. It is also difficult to comprehend why some righteous people are left mourning the loss of family members, suffering themselves from COVID-19 disease, fighting for their lives in critical condition, distressing over their livelihood, or simply facing uncertainty and fear.
But during this tumultuous time, the more that God is calling all the righteous to trust in Him. What is it to trust in God? It is not simply believing in Him, but firmly believing, solely relying, and completely placing one’s confidence in God, Who is the Truth and the only source of all goodness in this life. In other words, to trust in God is to surrender and entrust oneself to His perfect will.
As an example, I will talk about Saint Gemma Galgani, a Patroness of this Website, and her miraculous cure.
Saint Gemma got very ill with meningitis. As we know, even in our modern times, meningitis, be it viral or bacterial, is one of the most-feared diseases because, as they say, it is usually a ‘death sentence’ to those who acquire it. With pain of the body and the pain of having to undergo examinations, even as a most devout “victim soul” that she was, Gemma couldn’t help but say, “I thought how much better it would be to die.”
She also added, “One evening, more disturbed than usual I complained to Jesus saying that I would not pray any more if He would not cure me, and I asked Him why He made me so ill.” But her Guardian Angel, who always visited her, talked with her, and prayed with her, told her words, which comforted her:
“If Jesus afflicts you in the body, He does it to purify your spirit. Be good.”
Photo credit: St. Gemma Galgani
Greatly suffering with her illness, Saint Gemma learned that,
“When I shrink from suffering, Jesus reproves me and tells me that He did not refuse to suffer. Then I say ‘Jesus, Your will and not mine’. At last I am convinced that only God can make me happy, and in Him I have placed all my hope!”
In the time of the coronavirus pandemic wherein many parts of nations, including churches, are shutting down, the righteous should not feel like God has abandoned them despite following His commands, and being a “good” person. For like Saint Gemma Galgani, even when it does not seem so at the moment, the faithful are never alone or forlorn. God Who is the Author is in control of our lives, no matter how severe our sufferings are, with our Guardian Angels by our side.
2. To the wicked, however, this is a chastisement from God
There are priests who never say in their homilies and their interviews that COVID-19 might be a chastisement from God, a punishment for the wickedness of the world and its unholy people. (Click here for a related commentary by The Church Militant website.) Could it be because they were uncomfortable that it might “offend” believers and unbelievers alike? But what they are missing from not saying this probable truth—that a pandemic is one of the ways by which God may express His wrath over sinfulness—is the pastoral opportunity of doing souls a favor by instilling in them a holy fear of God, to abhor sin, and to worry about their salvation.
God does punish people and nations, as He is a righteous Judge. And people ought to hear this, especially during these afflicting times. Pope Benedict XV, in his 1917 speech to Lenten preachers in Rome, said during World War I, “…public scourges are atonement for the sins committed by public authorities and nations that have turned away from God.”
For those of you who are familiar with your Bible, like I am, you know that there are many narratives of how God punishes the wicked. We are very aware of how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of sin of homosexual acts (Genesis 18:26-33; 19:1-29). I think everyone of us knows the story of Noah’s Ark ever since we’re little; how God “regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved” (Genesis 5:6). God spared no one but Noah, who “found favor with the Lord” (Genesis 5:8) because he was “a righteous man, and blameless in his generation” (Genesis 5:9).
God said it Himself, in a vision of Prophet Isaiah, “Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their guilt. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, the insolence of tyrants I will humble” (Isaiah 13:11).
Even God’s people, the Israelites, and David, the anointed future king, whom He loved so much, were not spared from punishments. In the events narrated in 2 Samuel 21:1-14, God brought famine upon Israel because their King, Saul, unjustly killed a group of Gibeonites. He punished the nation of Israel with 3 years of famine (2 Samuel 21:1).
When David was already the King of Israel, the Israelites had sinned and were continuously sinning, with the tribe of Dan being the most idolatrous and evil tribe in their nation. David himself realized that he sinned for taking a census of all tribes of Israel (2 Samuel 24:1-10). It wasn’t really clear why it was a sin. But a most probable reason was that it was prideful of him to have the people numbered, when only the Lord should know their exact number. God then asked him, through Prophet Gad, which among the three punishments he would impose to the nation: 1) seven years of famine, 2) three months of losing battles, and David’s enemies would be able to chase him, or 3) three days of pestilence in the nation. David could not decide. So God did decide for him, and chose three days of pestilence in the nation that killed 70,000 men from the tribe of Dan to Beer-sheba, the most sinful tribes. (Saints throughout the ages, starting from our Church Fathers, Saint Irenaeus and Saint Hippolytus of Rome, prophesied and believed that the Antichrist would come from this tribe.).
And in the New Testament, Saint Paul the Apostle reminds us that those who do evil should be afraid, and that those who have hatred for Jesus, He will judge:
“For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer.”
– Romans 13:3-4
“Do you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? We know the one who said: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” and again: “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
– Hebrews 10:29-31
I would like to share with you my own personal observation. If there was something that has creeped me out in these last couple of years, it is this massive acceptance of sins relating to homosexuality. I noticed in these past two years, more than ever, homosexual acts and campaigns have gotten widespread tolerance, even among members of the Church. Without hesitation and thinking about our Faith, the sacredness of family and the sake of children, the world has been cheering on all those gay pride marches, many of which include actions that desecrate Jesus, the priesthood and anything Catholic, such a performing homosexual acts and scenes on a “cross.” And when people guilty of homosexual sins spoke, I find it creepy how they sounded as if they already owned the world. God sees all these.
And let us also remember that God hears the outcry of the oppressed. These days many of the powerful in government and other units of society abuse the poor and the vulnerable, like women, children and the sick, through corrupt actions. Victims of human trafficking and pornography, sexual abuses, pedophilia, In Vitro Fertilization and surrogacy are taken away of their human dignity. Even in our day-to-day lives, many do not have a problem in hurting other people by slander and wrongdoings. But the omnipotent God knows how and when to punish the oppressors.
In the Bible, before God destructed Sodom and Gomorrah, with the exception of the righteous Lot and his two daughters, He went to Abraham:
“So the LORD said: The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down to see whether or not their actions are as bad as the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.”
– Genesis 18:20-21
Our God is the same God of Abraham, Who punished its people for its evildoings, and annihilated Sodom and Gomorrah. Should humans dismiss that God’s chastisement could happen again, or is happening at the present?
3. This is God’s warning to Catholics and non-Catholics
Saint Vincent Ferrer, a Spanish Dominican friar known as the “The Angel of the Judgment,” and in the Canonization Bull of Pope Pius II, referred to as “the Angel of the Apocalypse, flying through the heavens to announce the day of the Last Judgment, to evangelize the inhabitants of the earth,” was one of the greatest miracle workers of the Catholic Church. He said:
“’There will be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars.’ By study of Holy Scripture and by factual experience we know that when any great and heavy affliction is about to come on the world, often some warning sign is shown in the sky or in the upper air. And this happens by the mercy of God, so that people forewarned of impending tribulation by means of these signs, through prayer and good works, may obtain in the tribunal of mercy a reversal of the sentence passed against them by God the judge in the heavenly courts; or at least by penance and amendment of life, may prepare themselves against the impending affliction.”
I believe that the coronavirus pandemic serves as a warning for all of us, showing us that it was possible that a set of microbes could cause such destruction across the globe. And if a set of microbes did accomplish that, then anything, whether natural or man-made, could devastate the whole world. But as Saint Vincent said, by the mercy of God, we will always be forewarned of any impending tribulation. Mystics and Saints throughout the ages kept warning us. And the Blessed Mother herself, in her Apparition at Fatima, warns us, “If people do not cease of offending God,” she continues, “He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.” That was in 1917. Since then, the whole of mankind had a century of chances to heed Our Lady’s request to convert, to make penances and sacrifices, and to pray the Rosary. But the world seems unmoved, and continues to disregard her call.
And if it became possible for the coronavirus to spread in a matter of weeks, any worse tribulation is possible in the approaching times. Who could say if this pandemic would be nothing compared to the worse to come? But this is not to instill irrational terror, but to awaken the faithful to be vigilant.
That is why it is very likely that with this pandemic, God is giving us a warning glimpse of what else there could be if people would not change their ways. We must never forget that all of us are at the mercy of God, not knowing what may happen to the world tomorrow. This pandemic distinctly reminds us that we should ask for His mercy more so in these times. If we ask Him for it humbly, and wholeheartedly acknowledge our constant offenses and weaknesses, God will give it to us to spare our lives, or to provide us His assistance and send us all the necessary graces, not only during this pandemic, but also in all other dangers that may come.
While God’s mercy is truly infinite, COVID-19 also warns us of God’s justice—that He will reward the righteous with a gift of life, and afflict or take the lives of the persecutor. Other sects and some Catholics preach about God’s mercy, perhaps too much, without any mention of God as the Divine Judge. But without the holy fear of God for His justice, people would be oblivious to the warnings, and continue to wrong and hurt others, thinking that because God ‘loves’ them anyway, as preachers overly emphasize almost to a fault, they can always get away with their wrongful deeds. And for some Catholics, they misunderstand this preaching to mean that avoiding divine justice is as easy as going to Confession to ‘recall’ their sins, or worse, confessing it away at the point of their death. All these thinking are but an abuse of God’s mercy.
In The Prophecies and Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden, this is what God says to this favored Mystic of the Catholic Church:
“Now, however, this foundation is undermined because all believe and preach that I am merciful, but almost no one preaches or believes me to be a righteous judge. They view me as an unjust judge! Unjust and unrighteous, indeed, would the judge be who, out of mercy, allowed the unrighteous to go unpunished, so that they could oppress the righteous even more! But I am a righteous and merciful judge; for I do not let even the least sin go unpunished, nor the least good go unrewarded.”
So if you think that you have wronged others, and have been indifferent to God’s teachings, now is the time to amend our lives and atone our sins. Anyone can do this by doing sacrifices and penances in reparation to God, and by praying in perfect charity for the ones you have hurt, that God, in His justice, may restore in them whatever was taken away from them because of your actions, with the sincere intention of never committing old sins, and persevering to be good until the end of life.
As we heed the warning of God, we must care to show Him our deep gratitude by showing Him our good will through abandoning our old desire of only satisfying our own will. Let us ask God to heal us from the pandemic, and from the sinfulness the plague our world.
4. God is reminding us of the fragility of man
Psalm 103 is a psalm I love because of the hauntingly beautiful words of the psalmist here. Personally, it was also providential how God made known of His presence to me when I first read it. Around the time that the COVID-19 cases were rising in number, I got reminded of this. I thought that the coronavirus pandemic fitted into this. So I’d like to share with all of you what it says through these verses:
Think for a moment what this Psalm is saying. People could be beautiful, handsome, talented, intelligent, creative, wealthy, powerful, or a mix of these things, actually. But if one inhales the wind that contains coronavirus, life could be gone just like that. This COVID-19 disease does not discriminate; it afflicts both the strong and the weak. It is God’s reminder to us of the fragility of human life; like the flowers and the grass in the field.
It is important for us to constantly live in friendship with God, so that wherever we are, and whoever we are, we are prepared for whatever it is that we are going to face as “the love of the LORD” will always be with us, and so, “his justice reaches out to children’s children”. We will never go wrong with God’s will.
Of course, it is normal to desire handsomeness or beauty, talent, intelligence, creativity, wealth and power. And it is normal that we love not only ourselves, but also our prized possessions and material belongings. But the difference, I think, between the true servants of God versus the secular people of the world is that when tribulations such as the coronavirus pandemic arises, the lovers of the world or “worldlings,” as Saint Louis de Montfort refers to them in his writings, are more anxious about not wanting to part with their material things should they die, say, of COVID-19. They are worried about their earthly dreams and goals being put into a halt, or in danger of not being attained at all. Even under lockdown, all they are concerned about are their interrupted social lives and pleasures, such as not being able to go to cinemas, events or concerts and bars.
But the true servants of God immediately place their inner thoughts on the Divine as world panic escalates. They are asking themselves, in the light of the Catholic Faith, what the Lord could be telling the world with this pandemic, and what it means in their lives as children of God. In spirit, they surrender themselves to God, not caring about their earthly concerns and worldly possessions.
We must remember that life, along with earthly belongings and dreams, could all be gone as swiftly as “the wind blows,” like how the Psalm describes. Being true servants of God, we must care about the state of our souls rather than our material bodies, especially during this crisis.
5. God is telling us to pray for ourselves
Most of us had probably gone panic buying, getting all those food, toiletries and medicines we think we would need. I’m sure there are people that now envy the “Doomsday Preppers” we watched in National Geographic Channel, with their bunkers filled with shelves of canned goods and handy kits of everything they have amassed for years, which seem like they could use up for a lifetime. People just need to feel assured that the nourishment and even comforts for their bodies are within reach should COVID-19 hits worse than it already has.
We might be as prepared as a ‘doomsday prepper,’ but let us not forget a more important ‘supply’ in times of trials and tribulations—the spiritual nourishment of our souls. Nourishing our spirit does not happen overnight. Our relationship with the Lord is built and made strong over time; just as how we see the vitality that comes from vitamins and mineral supplements we take only after a while.
God is telling us to pray for ourselves always, so that we are spiritually equipped at any given time. The godless and the non-practicing Catholics do not think that they need a firm relationship with the Lord during stressful times like the pandemic; still, they can’t be bothered to pray. If you ask them why, they’d say, “We are not sick with COVID-19, so why pray?” Or they’d say, “It’s all up to nature and the human body. God has no role in it because He doesn’t exist.” Non-practicing Catholics, or those Catholics who believe in God but disobey His Commandments, also do not see the need for prayer because of overconfidence that “God would protect us, anyway.”
Of course, in having a relationship with the Lord, we gain the holy confidence (and not false confidence) to ask Him in prayer to heal us from COVID-19 or spare us from its effects. In James 5:16-18, it says,
“The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.”
The secular world does not believe that prayer helps us not get infected with COVID-19. They only stick with “social distancing” and other protective measures, which are admittedly crucial to be practiced to prevent further virus spread. But sometimes, even the faithful forget that God is telling us to simply ask Him in prayer what we need, such as sparing us from the pandemic. It reminds me of what Saint Thomas Aquinas says in Summa Theologica, which I’m an enthusiast of—his greatest work and one of the most important and influential books in Roman Catholic theology and philosophy. Aquinas says that it is not because we are able to change God’s will through prayer, but because He has appointed for all eternity as part of His will that—He will give us, if only we ask it of Him. Sometimes, God wishes for us to ask something for our good, so that when He gives it, we recognize Him as the Author of the goods, and we grow in confidence in finding recourse to God.
“And so is it with regard to prayer. For we pray not that we may change the Divine disposition, but that we may impetrate that which God has disposed to be fulfilled by our prayers in other words “that by asking, men may deserve to receive what Almighty God from eternity has disposed to give,” as Gregory says.”
– Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (Dial. i, 8)
6. God is telling us to also pray for others
Although many Catholics do pray for themselves and their families, some of them forget or do not want to pray for others. But God is not pleased to spare us from coronavirus if all we think about is ourselves. Saint Thomas Aquinas says, again, in his Summa Theologica, that we owe to our neighbor this love. It is an act of charity that makes God pleased with us:
“Necessity binds us to pray for ourselves, fraternal charity urges us to pray for others: and the prayer that fraternal charity proffers is sweeter to God than that which is the outcome of necessity.”
– Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
We also should pray for the worst sinners that are afflicted in this pandemic. God instructs us to pray for one another. We should not fear nor feel envious that doing so would heal them even when they are ‘bad’ people. As Saint Thomas Aquinas elaborates, not all prayers for all sinners are heard, but only those prayers for the predestined to go to Heaven. Prayers for the reprobate, whom God despises and has foreknown to face eternal death, are not heard. But I think that we do not know which among the worst of sinners are the elect from the reprobate, for it’s not our job; only God would decide which lives He should take. What we must do is our God-given job to simply pray for all.
Keep in mind what the Angel of Portugal said to the three young visionaries—Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, a year before the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, that we should pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary for those “who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee.”
With over a million coronavirus cases in the world, how many of them are in grave spiritual condition, as described by the Angel of Portugal? Probably many, and they need our prayers for the forgiveness of their sins, particularly those on the edge of death.
In praying for them, what we can do is to offer our own sacrifices and sufferings as an act of reparation for the sins that offend God and for the conversion of sinners:
“Fear not. I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.”
Kneeling down, he bowed forward until his forehead touched the ground. We imitated him, led by a supernatural inspiration, and repeated the words we heard him say:
“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. I beg Thee forgiveness for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee.”
After he had repeated this twice, he rose and said: “Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” Then he disappeared.
– The Angel of Portugal to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in his First Apparition in Fatima
7. God is asking something of us
A dramatic spread of a viral disease like COVID-19 means that God is asking something of us. This could also mean that He will grant the grace of healing and bestow us even more graces, if we do what He asks of us. To think about this point, let us go back to the story of the miraculous cure of Saint Gemma Galgani.
Gemma, ill with meningitis, started praying a Novena to Blessed Margaret (now known as Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque), but kept forgetting it. However, the soul of Venerable Gabriel Possenti (now known as Saint Gabriel Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows), who she referred to as “my Protector,” told her,
“Oh Gemma, the Blessed Margaret is so afflicted because of you; she loves you, she would like to obtain for you so many favors, she would like to cure you, to make you all hers, but she cannot: the heart of Jesus restrains her because you pray so little, and with no devotion.“
In another time, Gemma seemed to be haggling with Jesus by making a promise, knowing that He was merciful, and said,
“I felt happy, because I thought suddenly that Jesus is merciful, that He would have pardoned me; I wanted to say: “And if I pray with devotion from now on and if I begin the Novena again, if I become good, will Jesus cure me?“
And then, Saint Gabriel Possenti suggested that she pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
“You know what we ought to do? We ought to begin at once a Novena to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and we ought to say nine Paters, Aves, and Glories, and so that you will not forget it, we will do it together for nine evenings at this same hour. Having finished that to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, you will make one to the Blessed Margaret, and recite nine Glorias. Shall we do this at once?”
Photo credit: St. Gemma Galgani
The soul of Saint Gabriel Possenti accompanied Gemma to pray with her. She recalled,
“For nine evenings consecutively my visitor came to me to make the Novena with me. How impatiently I waited for the night!”
Saint Gabriel Possenti made known to Gemma the heavenly favor that would be given to her through her prayers, and the other “promise” that would be asked of her:
“Oh, how happy Jesus is about the lovely promise that you have given Him of making the Holy Hour every Thursday. Never forget it. And the Blessed Margaret is also happy; she has secured from the Heart of Jesus permission to cure you, and you ought to make to her a fair promise. Do you know what she wishes of you?” With my mouth I said nothing, but with my heart I said: “I do not know,” and the voice replied: “You ought to promise her to become a Visitation nun.” I replied: “Yes, yes, it is what I have so much desired.” And the voice continued: “Then send for Monsignor to hear your confession, go to Communion, then arise, because you will be cured. Pray always with devotion, think often of the Blessed Margaret, because she loves you and will give you many graces.” “Oh, why,” I asked at once, “does the Blessed Margaret love me so much when I have never thought of her, when I have never prayed to her?” And the voice said, “Because you are a poor little soul whom she wishes to bring to Jesus.”
Before Jesus granted Saint Gemma cure from meningitis, He appeared to her, and she had a clear recollection of these events:
“Just before the cure was granted, Jesus said, embracing me, ‘Daughter I give Myself wholly to you; will you be all Mine?’ Jesus had taken from me my parents, and at times I had despaired because I believed that I was abandoned. That morning I complained to Jesus, and Jesus so good, so tender, said to me: ‘I, daughter, will be always with you. I am your Father; and she will be your Mother,” pointing to Most Holy Mary, the Sorrowful Mother. “Never will one lack fatherly care who is in My hands. Never, therefore, will you lack it, even if every consolation and support upon this earth is taken from you. Come, approach, you are My daughter. Are you not happy to be the daughter of Jesus and Mary?’ The great affection which Jesus had hidden in His Heart for me made me speechless.”
“Scarcely two hours passed when I arose. Those of the household wept for joy; I, too, was happy, not because of my restored health, but because Jesus had chosen me for His daughter. And Jesus also said before leaving me that morning: “My daughter, to the grace that I have given you this morning, will be added many even greater.”
Those reading this, who are stricken, or have loved ones who are stricken with COVID-19, or those who are afflicted by this pandemic in whatever way, I encourage you to pray with much devotion the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that Saint Gemma Galgani prayed, with the intention of healing of her meningitis, and to make a promise to be a more devoted servant of God, like she did.
(Click here for the complete narration of healing of Saint Gemma Galgani in this remarkable blog.)
I also suggest having a devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, given that Saint Gabriel Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Italian passionist who guided Gemma in praying for her healing, was very devoted during his life to Our Lord and Mary, the Virgin of Sorrows, because he grew up in a household of professionals and respected people where the Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows was a hallmark of their family life. (Click here for my detailed article on the Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.)
The Angel of Portugal revealed to the three children in Fatima what God asks of them—to console Him. (Click here for my detailed article on consoling Jesus and Mary.) And I think, it continues to be one of the things that are still being asked of the faithful, given how so many people, in this day and age, turn their backs on God, contently living in sinfulness and worldliness.
“After this, rising up, he again took the chalice and the Host in his hand; he gave the Host to me and the contents of the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco to drink, saying: ‘Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is horribly insulted by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.’”
– The Angel of Portugal to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in his Third and Last Apparition in Fatima
Photo credit: Castinçal
In the silence of our hearts, and our homes, especially those under lockdown, in isolation, or wherever you may be during this time of the pandemic, pray to God. Ask Him. Pray and listen intently to His voice that you may know what He is asking of you.
8. God is allowing us to experience a foretaste of Hell with the absence of public celebration and physical reception of the Sacraments
The coronavirus pandemic pushed government officials, and Church leaders, to resort, albeit temporarily, to something we probably never thought would ever happen—the historic suspension of the public reception and celebration of the Eucharist and other Sacraments (I read that this led to parents needing to baptize their infants at home), and the closure of many Catholic churches and Adoration chapels in various parts of the world. In many regions and countries, including the whole of National Capital Region, here in my home country, the Philippines, this scenario will last at least for some weeks more after Easter Sunday.
In a time of a global pandemic, even devoted Catholics could very easily become desolate, which means that they could go through the “dark night of the soul,” a term coined by Saint John of the Cross, also known as Saint John of Avila in 16th century. The “dark night,” in layman’s term, means that souls feel as if God has withdrawn from them His presence and consolations. They are not “unbelievers.” Instead, they are truly devoted to God and their Catholic Faith. Despite this, however, those people who go through the “dark night” feel that God has already left them alone by themselves, being affected one way or another, by sickness, a lack of livelihood, the loss of family members or a feeling of uncertainty, which are all happening now.
But without the spiritual consolations that God gives through the Sacraments, given these suspensions and closures, many Catholics might be feeling the sorrow that Mary felt in losing Jesus in the temple. They could not help, but ask God, “Have You forsaken and abandoned us?” It was what the Blessed Mother asked Her Son,
“Son, why have you done this to us?”
– Luke 2:48
Aside from conversing to God in prayer, it is only in receiving the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance that many of us souls who are going through the dark night of the soul may experience consolation. There is just no other consolation that could equal to being united with the Lord in Holy Communion, and to knowing that their sins are forgiven, and their guilt is removed in Confession.
The suspension of Masses and the Sacraments mean nothing, however, to non-practicing Catholics. But I know that to me and to all Catholics devoted to the Faith, there is certainly a meaning to it. I tried to contemplate on what it is. And I realize that it is a partial glimpse of the eternal loss of Heaven. Could God be allowing us to experience a ‘foretaste’ of Hell? Perhaps, it could be so. Why? Because the Bible teaches us the souls of the damned know and are aware that God is everywhere, even there in Hell. Yet, they do not feel His presence; they never see His Face. It just feels that He is too far from them. Without the Masses and Sacraments, we know that God is with us, as He is omnipresent. Yet, it feels like He is far from us, with those empty parishes. We imagine Him housed in tabernacles. But this time, He is “away” from the Catholic faithful. We desire so much to go to Mass, and receive Him in Communion. But we just can’t do that, as if we are deprived of His Most Holy Presence. He is very near and yet so far.
Though thankfully, we are only devoid of His sweet presence temporarily. But what for the souls in Hell who would never be able to see the Face of God nor be with Him for all eternity? For those of us Catholic faithful who are going through the dark night of the soul because of the coronavirus pandemic, give praise and thanks that this is only a temporary feeling of losing the sweet presence of the Lord. For at the end of the day, we are still alive. But the souls in Hell could do nothing because they are already dead. All of us, who still have the gift of life, the mercy of God is with us, giving us the chance to go to Heaven, and be with Him for eternity.
However, we should never ever forget how it feels to have temporarily ‘lost’ the presence of the Lord in Holy Mass and the Sacraments in the time of this pandemic. For this will serve as a constant reminder throughout our lives. If or when God puts an end to all this, the Holy Mass and the Sacraments will all be back as usual; available as usual for the faithful. Life will be back to normal. And as some say, it will also be business as usual. If and when it happens, it means then that the temptations of the material and secular world will be nearer to us again. And perhaps, even our dark night of the soul will be gone. But in times that we feel like giving in to temptations and giving up the Catholic faith, let this temporary absence of the Mass and Sacraments be our constant reminder on how it would be for the souls that would be in Hell for eternity—the permanent loss of the presence of God and the eternal life; the eternal death, plunged into the eternal abyss.
(Click here for my detailed article on why the suspension of the Holy Mass and the Sacraments due to the coronavirus pandemic resonates the Third Sorrow of Mary)
9. God is calling us to repent
“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
– Luke 13:5
I believe that it was truly not a coincidence that COVID-19 spiked just as the Catholic Church had entered the Season of Lent, wherein the ‘core’ or ‘central’ message of Lent—is to repent. That is because God must be calling us in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to repent. By this time that it is Holy Week, Lent draws to a close, and we enter the Paschal Triduum, Holy Triduum, or Easter Triduum, we should have already scrutinized ourselves, both externally and internally and accepted that we are not ‘as good’ as we think we are; that we are sinful. For Lent is about repentance, and acknowledging our own sinfulness is at its foundation. (Click here for my detailed article on what Lent really asks of us.)
True repentance means feeling remorse for the sins we have committed against God and other people; for our actions that caused others troubles and pains, and most of all, offended and hurt God. In other words, we should feel sorrowful of our sins.
Saint Thomas Aquinas said,
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
It’s sad how some people would still not repent even with the threat of COVID-19 in their lives. Despite seeing thousands of people die across nations, it seems that there’s just no warning from God that would make them believe. The coronavirus pandemic is no reason for them to amend their sinful beliefs and ways. For example, ‘Christians’ of other sects, in spite of what’s happening, do not seek enough wisdom from God to realize that they should accept the Blessed Mother and stop blaspheming about her.
There are people who expect their lives to be spared of the coronavirus pandemic, but they have no intention whatsoever to repent of their immorality. I found what I read in different news outlets saddening that many users have increased hours of pornography, especially in those countries most afflicted with COVID-19, because of not needing to sleep and wake up on a certain hour for work or whatever. Porn sites have been handing out free videos and subscriptions to those under lockdown, in self-isolation and quarantine. This just shows that the devil lures men during tragedies. And it’s terrible why people in serious distress bite the devil’s offer. Why does the temptation of lust remain unrestrained in these people’s lives even in hard times? People around the world fear for their safety, and pray for them, but unholy people waste themselves away in porn. Do they not feel shame or fear in case they die and face God’s judgment tomorrow? If pornography does not disgust them, then what difference do they have as humans, who were given free will and a conscience, from beasts?
“And for the lust with which they burn like senseless animals, they will never be admitted to the sight of my face but will be separated from me and deprived of their inordinate will.”
– God to Saint Bridget of Sweden, The Prophecies and Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden
It’s also disturbing that some major news sites, for a few weeks now, in the midst of deaths and infections, have in their front page about the “looming” shortage of condoms of one hundred million pieces. It seems that for the immoral and godless, such headlines are as horrible as the loss of the lives of thousands of people. In the middle of a pandemic, the dwindling supply of contraceptives and its immoral use are what concerns them. And how many of those people who use those condoms are the very ones who ‘pray’ to the Lord to be spared from COVID-19?
“Indeed, for your lust you shall be filled with horrible diabolic venom.”
– God to Saint Bridget of Sweden, The Prophecies and Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden
People might think of what I would say next as a lesser evil. But its rampant use makes it problematic. Many people, including Catholics, wasted their days of Lent away by watching movies and shows, particularly in streaming services. Now, if you have no trouble watching those ‘nice’ programs, which more often than not show sensuality, nudity, homosexual relationships, scenes that implicitly mock the Catholic Church and her teachings, characters that curse in between the Name of Jesus Christ, and depictions of Catholics as sexually repressed, weirdos and creeps (even putting specific details such as targeting their next victim after praying the Rosary), then ‘go ahead’ and watch them. Many viewers try their hardest to give an excuse for this conflict by simply “ignoring” all those evil scenes, while “appreciating” the rest of the whole thing. Now, if you have the conscience, or a lack thereof, to support producers, writers and celebrities who curse your God and your Father in Heaven to entertain people in their materials, then ‘go ahead’ and watch them. There was a post in my Facebook Newsfeed saying that it was unimaginable to survive quarantine without these streaming services. And you’d just know that they did mean it. It’s saddening that many people these days define their ‘survival’ through these materials that offend God. But the Catholic Faith gives moral strength that makes any genuine faithful wise and quick enough to run from people and refrain from things that serve as instruments of evil. If one wishes to repent of worldly lifestyles, he or she can start by acknowledging that such movies and shows are sinful. And those who wouldn’t do so should not be surprised if they would not be spared from the evils of this world, such as this coronavirus pandemic.
We should recall how Abraham interceded for Sodom. He began with this:
“Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it?”
– Genesis 18:23-24
Then Abraham’s bargaining went down all the way to ten. But God could not find even ten righteous souls in Sodom. And so the Lord departed, and swept Sodom all away. Perhaps, God desires to see this world have enough souls who repented, and He will bring about its true healing from this pandemic.
It is also worth noting that repentance is a core message in Fatima. Lucia asked the Blessed Mother in her Second Apparition for the cure of a sick person. Our Lady said, “If he is converted, he will be cured during the year.” Again, during Our Lady’s Last Apparition in Fatima on October 13, 1917, Lucia made requests for cures, conversions and other things. Our Lady’s response was: “Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins.” At times, a total healing of the body is not attained because the spirit is not yet healed, for the body and the spirit are connected. I have been told by a few priests that the body is sick because the spirit is sick. This is the result of sins or negatives emotions such as anger, including those rooted in the wounds far back in childhood, as the spiritual sickness manifests as bodily illness. Of course, there are sicknesses that are biological in nature. But some are brought about by spiritual sickness. There are cases that the body can’t completely be healed without healing the spirit first; and spiritual liberation can only be achieved until a person’s sins and weaknesses in character are revealed to them, and until their conversion is perfect.
To repent is important because it is the first crucial step to obtain perfect conversion. If this coronavirus pandemic was brought about by our sins, then we might really say that it was a form of chastisement to the world that God permitted. And He could also be telling us the real solution: repentance. If only the world would repent and attain perfect conversion, we might just wake up one beautiful day, in which positive cases of COVID-19 attain recoveries, and others are miraculously immune from it.
However, it is also possible that because of the most hideous sins that have been committed in this world in the last century, there could be other chastisements to come. And we could only be prepared if we repent.
Saint John the Baptist, the voice crying in the wilderness, and a beloved Saint to me said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 2:3). But many Catholics struggle to repent and convert. It would be easier to do though it if we have in mind the Kingdom of Heaven. If we repent because we want to be spared from this virus, our ultimate reason for doing so should be the Heavenly Jerusalem, to be among the saints, one day after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and at the end of the world. But if that is not enough for you to repent, then nothing else can convince you.
And in another perspective, we can’t say for certain whether this coronavirus pandemic is among the minor chastisements referred to as Minor Chastisement or Minor Tribulation that will pave the way for the “Era of Peace” or “Age of Peace,” prophesied throughout the ages by so many Saints, Church Fathers, Mystics, Blesseds, Venerables and Marian Apparitions approved by the Catholic Church, as supported by Scripture and Church Tradition.
It is said in the prophecies that during this Era of Peace, there will rule a “Great Monarch” (or Great Catholic Monarch) who will restore the Holy Roman Empire (Yes, that one we learned in our World History classes that Charlemagne founded in the 9th century. And yes, I remember that topic well.), with the guidance of the “Angelic Pontiff” (or Holy Pope), to remove every kind of evil in the whole world, such as apostasies and heresies, paganism like New Age practices or the occult, corruption, and other moral decays in the world. Catholic Tradition will again flourish. All men will have a good life of prosperity, and yet, a holy life, in justice, without poverty and hunger. Mankind will experience the Kingdom of God on earth, with the true peace of Jesus Christ reigning in the heart of every man. There will be a restoration of the Catholic social order, wherein the Church and all nations of the world accept that all these graces have come through Mary. The whole Church and the whole world then will publicly recognize and place their devotion to the Immaculate Heart, alongside the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Based on various sources I read, the identity of the Great Catholic Monarch is that he is only either German or French. He is a direct descendant of a Holy Roman Empire ruler. The identity of the Angelic Pope is most likely Italian. (However, after this Era of Peace, it is also in the prophecies that men will return to their sinful ways, the Antichrist will appear, and the Major Chastisement or Major Tribulation or the Great Tribulation will take place. Soon will follow the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the End of the World and the General Judgment. Click here for more information on this matter in this good blog.)
Among the Saints who prophesied the Era of Peace was Saint Louis de Montfort. He referred to the Era of Peace as the “Age of Mary.” In his book, True Devotion to Mary, he says:
“The soul of our Blessed Lady will communicate itself to you, to glorify the Lord. Her spirit will enter into the place of yours, to rejoice in God her salvation, provided only that you are faithful to the practices of this devotion. “Let the soul of Mary be in each of us to glorify the Lord: let the spirit of Mary be in each of us to rejoice in God.” Ah! When will that happy time come, said a holy man of our own days who was all absorbed in Mary—Ah! When will the happy time come when the divine Mary will be established Mistress and Queen of all hearts, in order that she may subject them fully to the empire of her great and holy Jesus? When will souls breath Mary as the body breathes air? When that time comes, wonderful things will happen in those lowly places where the Holy Ghost, finding His dear spouse, as it were, reproduced, in souls, shall come in with abundance, and fill them to overflowing with His gifts, and particularly with the gift of wisdom, to work miracles of grace. My dear brother, when will that happy time, that age of Mary, come, when many souls, chosen and procured from the Most High by Mary, shall lose themselves in the abyss of her interior, shall become living copies of Mary, to love and glorify Jesus? That time will not come until men shall know and practice this devotion which I am teaching. “That Thy reign may come, let the reign of Mary come.”
– Saint Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary
Then in his book The Secret of Mary, he says that this “Age of Mary,” will set up the “kingdom of Jesus her Son,” wherein,
“…towards the end of time and perhaps sooner than we expect, God will raise up great men filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary. Through them Mary, Queen most powerful, will work great wonders in the world, destroying sin and setting up the kingdom of Jesus her Son upon the ruins of the corrupt kingdom of the world. These holy men will accomplish this by means of the devotion of which I only trace the main outlines and which suffers from my incompetence.”
For many faithful, this prophesied great Age of Peace is also popularly called the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” as a nod to the messages of Our Lady of Fatima:
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
“When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”
– Our Lady of Fatima to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta in July 13, 1917
Our Lady of Fatima said that in order for us to get into the Era of Peace, the consecration of Russia must be commenced. As we all know, the faithful have a never-ending argument whether Russia was indeed consecrated. But if the “Consecration of the World” by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984 would actually count as ‘consecration of Russia,’ and if it was indeed accepted by Our Lady (considering it’s done almost 67 years since she had asked that), the next condition for the Era of Peace to come was for the people to have a devotion to her Immaculate Heart, and in particular, the Five First Saturdays, which up to the present is not heeded by many Catholics. This is perhaps the reason why even if the consecration of Russia did happen, the world has yet to be in peace.
Like what Saint Louis de Montfort said, “That time will not come until men shall know and practice this devotion which I am teaching.” We see this to be true, because up to now, there are Catholics who do not have any devotion to the Blessed Mother, and many have not consecrated themselves to Jesus through Mary in the method of Saint Louis de Montfort. On a personal note, my immediate family did the Consecration on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in 2018.
A side note: Some may say that the world has been in ‘peace’ after World War II, but such is a false peace. Anyone who argues that this is ‘already’ the Era of Peace, they are mistaken. I call our time the “Era of Peace Pretend,” wherein people are ‘peacefully’ living in sin. The “true” Era of Peace that I am talking about here is a time of spiritual peace when there will be no abortions, contraception, In Vitro Fertilization and surrogacy, homosexual relations, sexual abuses, human trafficking and pornography, government corruption, atheism, degradation of morality, apostasies and heresies by other denominations and sects and within the Catholic Church itself. I am talking about the peace wherein Christians from every nation are back home to the Catholic Church, the Gospel is accepted by every person, God is recognized as the True God, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary reign in the heart of every man.
God will continue purifying the world through chastisements, such as this coronavirus pandemic, as long as the world does not find itself in this Era of Peace. That is why more than ever, to prepare ourselves spiritually —we need true repentance and conversion by having a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (which as I have mentioned earlier, healed Saint Gemma Galgani of her illness) and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We should heed the call to console Their Twin Hearts, through prayer and penance, for our protection and healing against this coronavirus pandemic, or any other chastisements that could happen in the world, until the promised Age of Peace comes.
“Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it. These souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn his throne.”
– Our Lady of Fatima to Lucia on June 13, 1917
“Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that later on, My Church may extend its cult and place the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.”
– Jesus to Lucia, though an interior communication, as she wrote in her letter to Father Jose Bernardo Goncalves on May 18, 1936
“He made me understand that the ardent desire He had of being loved by men and of drawing them from the path of perdition into which Satan was hurrying them in great numbers, had caused Him to fix upon this plan of manifesting His Heart to men, together with all Its treasures of love, mercy, grace, sanctification and salvation. This He did in order that those who were willing to do all in their power to render and procure for Him honor, love, and glory might be enriched abundantly, even profusely, with these divine treasures of the Heart of God, which is their source.”
– Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, The Letters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: Apostle of the Sacred Heart
10. God could be telling us—a combination of all
Each one of us has his or her own unique spiritual journey; no two souls are the same. Like I have said earlier in this piece, it is only in the light of the Catholic Faith that we would discover and understand the answer (or answers) to the question as to what God could be telling the world in this pandemic.
Maybe God wants you to address a personal aspect in your life that needs resolving during the quietness and stillness of a lockdown. Maybe He is also reminding you to pray, cautioning you about your repeated errant habits, asking you to offer your sacrifices, or inviting you to put your trust in Him. Maybe not only one but a number of thoughts in the list I made tug at your heart.
On a personal note, I remember that at the start of this year, before the pandemic was reported in the news, I always had this deep interior feeling, telling me that something was ‘off.’ I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. But I knew that I was feeling a bit unusual—not with myself, but with my environment. And it went on for a while. That is because God speaks to us as an inner voice in our hearts. And the message He gives is heard by the person, depending on where they are spiritually.
Conclusion
There are plenty of things that God could be telling each and every person with this pandemic. However, there are things as well that God is telling me that only me could discern and understand. And there are things that God is telling you that only you could discern and understand. God is speaking to us; be open. And let each one of us boldly respond to Him,
“Speak, for your servant is listening.”
– 1 Samuel 3:10
***
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Saint Gemma Galgani, Patroness of The Best Catholic, Happy Feast Day (April 11), pray for us!
Saint Gabriel Possenti, pray for us!
Saint Francisco Marto, Saint Jacinta Marto, Sister Lucia dos Santos, Servant of God, pray for us!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
Email: [email protected]
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beautiful