Observations From The COVID-19 World Pandemic

The world is mostly united under the spread of COVID-19 but there are places and groups within communities that do not care.  Why do they not care?

1.  Pride:  I am young and invincible.  I am old and I am not about to change my life-long habits for anybody or anything.

2.  Selfishness:  So long as they remain healthy, they do not pay any attention to those overworked, over-burdened and severely stressed out healthcare workers, some of whom have themselves contracted the virus, nor do they care about being possible carriers of the virus and transmit it to others while they are asymptomatic, until they themselves get sick, start to suffer and need to seek medical attention.

3.  Greed:  Many businesses stay open to cater to who do not care, even as people are packed into a relatively confined area such as bars and gyms but many such businesses are now required to close by local governments.  Some cruise ships are still sailing.

On the flip side, good things are also happening:

1.  Humility:  Many people are realizing that no matter who one is, whether one is a nobody in society, a celebrity, a prince or a prominent and powerful political figure is not immune to contracting the virus.  The indiscriminate viral infection can humble a person regardless standing.

2.  Charity:  Some people in some communities have come together to organize ways to help others who are in need.

3.  Unity:  This is an instance where the world has mostly set aside political differences and has begun to pay attention to the world's physicians, epidemiologists and other medical experts, technicians and staff who speak with one united voice trying desperately to slow the spread of this pandemic.

In conclusion, every citizen of this world has to do what is right to combat the spread of this virus by staying home as much as possible, and by keeping oneself healthy by trying not to stress out in this challenging period, by making small personal sacrifices for the greater good, by keeping a safe distance from others, by washing hands as often as necessary, and by strengthening one's own immune system, by eating properly, resting sufficiently and staying hydrated.

Be well.  Be healthy.  And keep praying.

Thank you for reading.  God bless!!

Prefecture of the Papal Household Announcement

What is the Prefecture of the Papal Household?  Quoted from the Prefecture of the Papal Household [1]:

It is the task of the Prefecture of the Papal Household to coordinate the services of the Antechamber and to organize the official audiences granted by His Holiness to Heads of State, Heads of Government, Governmental Ministers and other dignitaries, as well as to Ambassadors who come to the Vatican to present their Letters of Credence.

The Prefecture takes care of the preparations for all audiences - private, special and general - and visits from those who are formally received by the Holy Father. It is also responsible for arranging Pontifical ceremonies - except liturgical celebrations - as well as the Spiritual Retreat of the Holy Father, the College of Cardinals and the Roman Curia.

In addition, the Prefecture oversees the appropriate arrangements required each time the Holy Father leaves the Apostolic Palace to visit the city of Rome or travel within Italy.

Here is the announcement, quoted in its entirety (original in red) [2]:

The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household announces that, because of the current global public health emergency, all the Liturgical Celebrations of Holy Week will take place without the physical presence of the faithful.

Furthermore, this Prefecture informs that until April 12 the General Audiences and the Angelus presided over by the Holy Father will be available only in live streaming on the official Vatican News website.

Most likely the pope will not be washing anyone's feet on Holy Thursday, April 9, 2020.

[1] http://www.vatican.va/various/prefettura/index_en.html
[2] Ibid.

Published By India Post: "Corona Virus – Is God unhappy with Mankind?"

India Post  published an article on March 13, 2020, entitled  Corona Virus – Is God unhappy with Mankind?  Quoted below are the first two paragraph and the beginning of the third [1]:

St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City in Italy is deserted. The Pope, supreme Pontiff has cancelled all meetings and engagements in Vatican City. The world is cut off with Rome.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has temporarily banned Umrah pilgrims from all over the world. A day earlier, the Kingdom also restricted its citizens and residents from visiting Makkah. Although the Makkah entry restrictions announced are precautionary temporary steps, the Holy Kaaba is a deserted place.

Yes, for the first time in the history of mankind the circling of Kaaba has been stopped....

The rest of it is an interesting read.

[1] https://www.indiapost.com/corona-virus-is-god-unhappy-with-mankind/

Attendees Present At Pope's Mass Said In Person

Vatican News  posted a video on 12 March 2020 that showed, at the very beginning, attendees at Casa Santa Marta, the pope's chapel, while the pope was saying Mass. [1]  It did not show him, or anyone else, distributing Holy Communion, however.

Who were the attendees was not specified, and many seats were left unoccupied.  It therefore can be assumed that it was not a public event, but nonetheless public enough due to the fact that the attendees probably were not living in isolation.  Since Holy Communion was not shown to have been distributed, the pope was able to maintain a relatively safe distance between himself and the attendees, one that presumably was far apart enough to minimize the risk of any viral transmission.

This was a brave and respectable action taken by the pope in an environment full of fear.


[1]  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-03/pope-rich-man-lazarus-indifference.html

The Pope Reveals How Much He Truly Cares About His Priests And Himself

Quoted from an article entitled  Pope Urges Priests: Bring Eucharist to Sick During Italy Coronavirus Quarantine: "Pope Francis urged priests to bring the Eucharist to the sick and to accompany medical workers, as Italy begins its first day of a nationwide quarantine." [1]

But for his own health and safety, Bergoglio is offering Mass through a livestream [2]:

Pope Francis always offers a 7:00 am Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta where he lives. This week, the Mass is being livestreamed over the internet. The pope said March 9 he is offering the Masses for those affected by the coronavirus.

What Bergoglio was implying could be this: The hell with the rest of you priests.  Go smell like sheep, tend to them and get infected as they are infected but stay away from me.

He also streamed from his papal library, quoted from an article dated 11 March 2020 [3]:

Today, Pope Francis made this observation from his papal library, where he gave a virtual, televised General Audience, as concerns over the Coronavirus has essentially put Italy on lock down.

Notice how far his two aides were sitting away from him in the photograph accompanying the article published by the National Catholic Reporter [4].


[1] https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-urges-priests-bring-eucharist-to-sick-during-italy-coronavirus-quarant
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://zenit.org/articles/what-ends-our-restlessness-satisfies-our-deepest-longing-christ-pope-says-at-1st-virtual-general-audience-in-time-of-coronavirus/
[4] https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-chronicles/christs-gospel-can-satisfy-hunger-thirst-justice-pope-says

End Times Not Quite Here But Could Be Near

The previous post ended with this sentence: Even with all that is going on in the world and in the Catholic Church, it not quite the end of days as foretold in Luke 21:5-35. [1]  The conclusion was written before seeing a Newsweek  article, quoted in part below [2]:

Russia has criticized the Trump administration's pursuit and deployment of low-yield nuclear warheads, arguing it may raise the prospects of a nuclear conflict. At the same time, however, the United States estimates its top foe has up to 2,000 such warheads.

Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova on Friday blasted the $28.9 billion budget proposed for the Pentagon's nuclear modernization program, along with the additional $15.6 billion earmarked for the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration's efforts to revamp the U.S. nuclear warhead arsenal. Among the weapons being developed and deployed is the W76-2, a nuclear warhead with lower yields that Zakharova and others contend could make them a more readily-available option in the event of a conflict.

Low-yield or high-yield nuclear weapons makes no difference whatsoever when "'[nation rises] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.'" [3]  Weapons are made to kill even though God said, "Thou shalt not kill.'" [4]

Why should Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova care about these new nuclear weapons in development?  A 2019 estimate shows that Russia has 6,490 nuclear warheads already [5], presumably all of them are high-yield.  Why not use them?  If Russia launches all its 6,490 high yield nuclear weapons, then United States would likely retaliate with its estimated 6,185 conventional nuclear warheads [6].

Is there a universal law that says if a country kills with a certain weapon, the other country has to match that weapon to kill in revenge?  Is not the purpose of a war is to annihilate the enemy in whatever way necessary to win it?  Does it matter whether deaths are caused by a few hundred high-yield nuclear weapons or a few thousand low-yield nuclear weapons?

If 12,000 or so high yield nuclear warheads are dropped around the world, one would not have to worry about the low yielding ones or the "'great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places'" [7] or climate change since not too many creatures would be able to survive massive nuclear explosions and their lingering aftermath.

The question remains when the Son of Man will come again, before, during or after the final nuclear war.



[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21%3A5-35&version=NIV
[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-says-new-us-weapon-threatens-nuclear-war/ar-BB10QIWI?ocid=spartanntp
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21%3A5-35&version=NIV. 10.
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A13&version=KJV
[5] https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat
[6] Ibid.
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21%3A5-35&version=NIV. 11.

Corona Virus Reaches Vatican City

The Vatican confirms having a first case of the corona virus, COVID-19, on March 6, 2020, but "St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican museums remain open to visitors." [1]

How will this new virus affect Mass attendance when many sit together, and the receiving of the Body of Christ and at some Masses, the Blood of Christ?  For now, there seems to be no uniform mandatory restrictions, no mention that skipping Sunday Mass is permissible unless one is sick.

The Catholic Church still needs to fill the collection baskets, regardless of how virulent the pathogens are that are spreading.  It is silent as to church attendance.  Therefore, it could be implied that it is better to risk illness and death than to sin.

Perhaps the Catholic Church ought to take this opportunity to remind Catholics, including the elderly and those with underlying chronic illnesses and compromised immune systems that not attending Mass is a mortal sin, and not to think too much about getting infected, and also to remind them to name the Church as a beneficiary in their wills or living trusts in the event they drop dead.

So is obligatory Mass attendance mainly about filling the collection baskets?  Or is it truly about worship and prayer?  When did Jesus pass around a collection basket when people were gathered around Him to collect money?  Did He not feed them fishes and loaves of bread instead? [2]

If keeping a church open is so critical to worship and prayer, then why did one of the most important churches on earth shut its doors?

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is closed [3]:

Palestinian officials on Thursday closed the storied Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem indefinitely  over fears of the new coronavirus, weeks ahead of the busy Easter holiday season. [Emphasis  added.]

Is it an over-reaction?  Perhaps it is.  Why worry about death?  Everybody dies.  Death is a just as much a part of life as life is.  Why fear it?  When God calls, one ought to embrace the call.

"'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest...'" [4]

Those who are not weary and burdened, who are captivated by what the world gives in all its splendor, may not want to leave just yet.  When death beckons, they tremble with fear.  It is normal that people fear death because people do not know what comes after, or want to believe what could come after the only life they know.

Death by COVID-19 is only one manner of death.  Death can arrive in all different kinds of ways.  It ought not to be feared.  Just be ready for the moment when God calls.  It is unlikely that people will be completely sinless at death, whether they attended Mass in accordance with Catholic teachings or not.

When Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,'" was He implying that this love needed to take place on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation?  What about after Mass has ended?  What about all the other times when one is not attending Mass?

Can love of God and mortal sin be reduced to a mathematical formula measured by Mass attendance?  What is God telling people when He allowed a virulent virus to spread around the world?

Is God trying to remind that people are more alike than they are different?  Is God trying to let people know that artificial boundaries separating countries are merely an exercise in vanity?  People need documents to cross borders but God has given the world a contagious disease that can hitch a ride and go everywhere without a passport.

While COVID-19 has dominated headlines around the world, there is another problem that is occurring, that was mentioned in a previous post, locusts, which also can cross borders without passing through immigration.  Below is an update as of 5 March 2020 [5]:

The situation remains extremely alarming in the Horn of Africa, specifically Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread breeding is in progress and new swarms are starting to form, representing an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season.

EASTERN AFRICA

Kenya. Widespread swarm breeding continues in northern and central counties where an increasing number of hopper bands are forming and, in the past few days, the new generation of immature swarms have started to form. This may be supplemented by new-generation immature swarms arriving from Somalia. Further concentration is expected in Marsabit and Turkana. Aerial and ground control operations continue.

Ethiopia. Swarms continue to mature and breed over a widespread area of Oromiya and SNNPR regions, including the Rift Valley. Cross-border movements continued to be reported from adjacent areas of Somalia and Kenya.

Somalia. In the northwest, late instar hopper bands and immature adult groups are forming between Berbera and Burao. In the northeast, new immature swarms are forming near Garowe. Some swarms may be moving south towards NE Kenya.


South Sudan. The mature swarm seen on 23 February near Laboni and the Uganda border dispersed into many small swarmlets.

Uganda. No new reports of swarms since 24 February.

DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). No new reports of Desert Locust in the northeast near the Uganda border.

OTHER HOT SPOTS

Sudan. Scattered adults are maturing on the central coast of the Red Sea. No locusts reported elsewhere.

Eritrea. Breeding continued on the central and northern Red Sea coast where groups of hoppers and immature adults formed. A mature swarm appeared on the coast near Massawa and laid eggs. Ground control operations treated 2 712 ha (24–26 Feb).

Saudi Arabia. Ground control operations against hopper bands on the Red Sea coast near Qunfidah finished on 26 February but continued against immature groups in the interior between Wadi Dawasir and the Persian Gulf. Ground teams treated 3 640 ha (19-27 Feb).

Yemen. Another generation of breeding is in progress on the Red Sea coast where hatching and early instar hopper bands continue to form. An immature swarm was seen in Sana'a on 29 February. New breeding was seen on the southern coast near Aden where early and late instar hopper bands were present, the latter forming immature adult groups. Control could not be carried out.

Oman. Breeding continues on the north and east coasts where hopper groups and bands have formed. Swarms were reported recently on the north coast.

Iraq. Swarms were reportedly flying in the southeast between Basrah and Nasiriyah.

Iran. 22 immature swarms spread out along the southwest coast between Bushehr and Bander-e-Lengheh in Fars, Khozestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces where they quickly matured within four days to lay eggs. Local breeding continued in the southeast. Control operations are in progress.

Pakistan. Mature adult groups and swarmlets were seen copulating in Okara district of Punjab and Dera Ismail Khan and Lucky Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Spring breeding is in progress in the interior of Baluchistan between Khuzdar and Dalbandin, and on the southwest coast near Turbat where adult groups are laying eggs and early instar hopper groups are already forming. Ground teams treated 4 490 ha (18-29 Feb). New generation immature groups and swarms could start forming in Baluchistan by the end of March.

Afghanistan. Three swarms reportedly arrived in Khost province from adjacent areas of NW Pakistan on about 21 February.

Even with all that is going on in the world and in the Catholic Church, it not quite the end of days as foretold in Luke 21:5-35. [6]


[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-city-confirms-first-case-of-coronavirus-84365
[2]  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A13-21&version=NIV
[3] https://apnews.com/c57bc457c0c1c02a910c1564d8f76715
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11%3A28-30&version=NIV
[5] http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21%3A5-35&version=NIV