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| Corona Virus |
It may seem to be very astonishing seeing someone writing on Covid-19 pandemic disease. Since, the pandemic has touched the human family, it is of the great importance to make a few lines about it, as it is going to be done in this article. One may ask, what is this trumpet? Where is the trumpet being rung? The trumpet being rung in our world today is covid-19. It first happened in Wuhan-China early in December, 2019. When this trumpet rung, its sound did not end there, but extended to other nations. This was a call to take precautions.
In many societies when the trumpet is rung means that there is a thing to pay attention for. So, the eruption of covid-19 in the human family is like a sound of the trumpet which calls all people to take hold of what is at stake. It is a call to listen, to follow what is instructed. Albeit, in other society, trumpet is a sign that expresses joy or sorrow, for instance, the voice of the trumpet may symbolize funeral, marriage, theft, to mention but a few. For us here, the trumpet, covi-19 is to awaken us.
So far, what is covid-19? Covid-19 is the disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. The other name of Corona is SARS–CoV-2 which means Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2[1]. This is one of the genetic variants of the bat corona viruses which are said to be more than 1240[2]. The disease-causing Virus is said to attack the respiratory system of the human being. In short, COVID-19, means CO stands for Corona, VI for virus, and D for disease, whereas 19 implies the year it emerged that 2019.
One may ask, why covd-19? Who might be the cause? God or Man? Certainly, it is not God, for God is all good and cannot will evil, as The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts: “God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral Evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it. For almighty God…because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself”[3].
On contrary, the part remains is of man, of which the search for who is the cause of Covid-19 among the human beings is questionable; and it has been a difficult task to tackle. However, there are people who hold that, Wuhan Institute of virology (WIV) is the cause of Covid-19. These people hold that, WIV has created the hybrid version of a bat corona virus that could infect the human cells[4].
The question which remains in the hearts and minds of people, is, why covid-19? Others have gone so far to ask: what has covid-19 has come to do with our lives? Indubitably, Covid-19 has come in human history, to bring fire not to destroy but to purify, to renew our souls. To bring an earthquake not to shutter but to awaken, it has come to us all as the trumpet to awaken our conscience. Further, covid-19 has come to us to bring weapons not to kill but to assure, to encourage. It is a sound which calls to revisit our lives. Our lives before covid-19, how was it? Was it pleasing God? What will our life be after the pandemic? The words of St. Augustine hold water here that, “oh Lord, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”[5]. The human soul or spirit always struggles to reach there, to its source, God. This is why man struggles to know everything that effects his life, as covid-19 has done.
Now, what does this trumpet has to do with our spiritual life, moral as well as political issues? Spiritually, covid-19 is a trumpet which calls us to amend our way of lives and be ready to cope with all the sufferings, pains and all difficulties we encounter. The thing to hold is that, we are not to fear covid-19, but we are called to fear to sin for which destroys our friendly relationship with our God. Here Pope Francis says that:
“The risk is that we may then be struck by an even worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic, however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, and all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family”[6]. In that way, the Pope insists that, Egoism is an Even Worse Virus than covid-19.
Morally, the trumpet has come to us, to teach us that, life is sacred and precious and has to be protected. All cultures of death has to be stopped. Immoral actions like abortion, killing of albinos, theft, robbery and the alike are to be abolished. Whereas in political sphere, the trumpet has helped to minimize the ongoing wars and clashes which were before the pandemic. For example, the arms show up between United State of America and North Korea explicitly unveils and expresses the will to kill, even if for the time are not used. Corona has intervened their and simplified their will to destroy, to kill each. The wars in Sudan, Iraq and other place, during the time of pandemic, nothing of killing among themselves was depicted in the television and other mass media except corona. Hence, corona has come as the regulator and the caller for us all to revisit our life history, and have a new start. And this star may have double effects; first, covid-19 may draw people close to God and secondly, may keep them away. As Franz Werfel expressed it, “sickness invites us to heaven or to hell”[7]. Fulton J. Sheen also cements on this very fact by saying that, “sickness can also liberate man from his selfishness and so transform his as to reveal the mystery of his being”[8].
Furthermore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church enjoins: “Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death. Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him”[9].
It is in understanding that can be established that, covi-19 has come as a trumpet in our lives to remind of what is supposed to be done.
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REFERENCES
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/Coronavirus disease 2019, [Accessed on October 6, 2020].
[2]https://www.nature.com/articles/The biggest mystery: what will it take to trace the coronavirus source, [Accessed On October 6, 2020].
[3] The Catechism of the Catholic Church, (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 1994), n.311.
[4] https://www.ft.com/How a Wuhan lab became embroiled in a global coronavirus blame game, [Accessed On October 6, 2020]
[5] St. Augustine, Conf. I, I, I: PL 32, 659-661.
[6] POPE FRANCIS, Life After The Pandemic, Preface by Card. Michael Czerny SJ, (Rome: Vatican Press, 2020), pp.51-52.
[7] Fulton J. Sheen, Life Is Worth Living, (India: Ignatius Press, 2019-fourth printing), p147.
[8] Ibid.,
[9] CCC, nn. 1500-1501.