Please remember that you are not alone.  We are all going through this difficulty together and we are going to get through it together with the help of God. 
                                                                                                                                 
We urge you to find some way to step back from the challenges you are facing, the fears, the anxieties, and to turn even for a few moments toward the Lord. 

Please check this page for the latest information and resources. We will be updating this content frequently. 
 

Please pray for COVID-19 patients, their families, priests, and medical teams attending to them, as well as for all health care workers on the front lines during this pandemic. Visit archspm.org/covid19prayers to learn about prayer opportunities. 

We write to you about a spiritual response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). 1n the midst of the fear and worry that is gripping our community, we have an opportunity to turn together toward the Lord and seek the relief that only he can provide. We have a chance to remember the pilgrim nature of our Church, that our lives belong to the Lord, and that we depend on him both in life and death. Additionally, we have an opportunity to act in solidarity through our united prayers for the sick, for those who care for the sick, for those who are alone, for the dead, and for deliverance of the human family in all parts of the world from sickness and eviI.

Throughout the ages, faced with all manner of illness and calamities, believers have petitioned for God's grace and assistance through litanies. A litany is a prayer that we can offer when we are alone, at home together with family, or gathered as a virtual community. Simply joining in a litany to call upon the name of the Lord and invoke the help of our holy patrons and the Blessed Virgin Mary reminds us that no matter how afraid we might feel, we are never really alone.

We also want to use this providential oppo,tunity to put into practice our faith in the importance of prayer. Through prayer, even in difficult moments, we can remain in relationship with God and realize that we are not alone. Prayer is action of the most powerful kind because it invokes the help of the most powerful being--God, the only one who can truly help and save us. While his answer to our prayers may not always be according to our desires, it is according to his plans. The challenges that we face in the world, especially with the uncertainty of the present moment, call us to prayer. 

Message from our Holy Father
Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, 11 March 2020

O Mary,
You always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and hope.
We rely on you, Health of the sick,
You who, at the cross, united with Jesus’ pain,
keeping steadfast your faith.

You, Salvation of the Roman people,
you know what we need
and we are sure that you will provide
for, as at Cana of Galilee,
may joy and celebration return
after this trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do what we are told by Jesus,
Who has taken our suffering upon Himself
and has burdened Himself with our sorrows
to lead us through the cross,
to the joy of resurrection. Amen.
 
Under your protection we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God.
Do not spurn the pleas of we who are in trial
And free us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Listen to and follow the directions of your State and Local Authorities.

If you feel sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.

If your children are sick, keep them at home. Do not send them to school. Contact your meical provider.

If someone in your houshold has tested positive for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home. Do not go to work. Do not go to school. Contact your medical provider.

If you are an older person, stay home and away from people.

If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition that can put you at increased risk (for example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.

Do your part to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Work or engage in schooling from home whenever possible

If you work in a critical infrastructure industry, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, such as healthcase services, pharmaceutical and food supply, you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule. You and your employer should follow CDC guidance to protect your health at work.

Avoid Social Gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.

Avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts— Use drive-thru, pickup,or delivery options.

Avoid Discretionary Travel, shopping trips, and social visits.

Do not visit nursing homes or retirement or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance. 

Practice Good Hygiene:

• Wash your hands, especially after touching any frequently used item or surface.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Sneeze or cough into a tissue, or the inside of your elbo.
• Disinfect frequently used items and surfaces as much as possible.

View the complete document here.
 

Catechesis to Heal the World--Pope Francis

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

The pandemic continues to cause deep wounds, exposing our vulnerability. On every continent there are many who have died, many are ill. Many people and many families are living a time of uncertainty because of socio-economic problems which especially affect the poorest.

Thus, we must keep our gaze firmly fixed on Jesus (see Heb 12:2): in the midst of this pandemic, our eyes on Jesus; and with this faith embrace the hope of the Kingdom of God that Jesus Himself brings us (see Mk 1:5; Mt 4:17; CCC 2816). A Kingdom of healing and of salvation that is already present in our midst (see Lk 10:11). A Kingdom of justice and of peace that is manifested through works of charity, which in their turn increase hope and strengthen faith (see 1 Cor 13:13). Within the Christian tradition, faith, hope and charity are much more than feelings or attitudes. They are virtues infused in us through the grace of the Holy Spirit (see CCC, 1812, 1813): gifts that heal us and that make us healers, gifts that open us to new horizons, even while we are navigating the difficult waters of our time.

Renewed contact with the Gospel of faith, of hope and of love invites us to assume a creative and renewed spirit. In this way, we will be able to transform the roots of our physical, spiritual and social infirmities and the destructive practices that separate us from each other, threatening the human family and our planet.

 

Jesus’s ministry offers many examples of healing: when He heals those affected by fever (see Mk 1:29-34), by leprosy (see Mk 1:40-45), by paralysis (see Mk 2:1-12); when He restores sight (see Mk 8:22-26; Jn 9:1-7), speech or hearing (see Mk 7:31-37). In reality, He heals not only the physical evil – which is true, physical evil – but He heals the entire person. In that way, He restores the person back to the community also, healed; He liberates the person from isolation because He has healed him or her.

 Let’s think of the beautiful account of the healing of the paralytic at Capernaum (see Mk 2:1-12) that we heard at the beginning of the audience. While Jesus is preaching at the entrance to the house, four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Not being able to enter because there was such a great crowd there, they make a hole in the roof and let the stretcher down in front of Him. Jesus who was preaching sees this stretcher coming down in front of Him. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven’ ” (v. 5). And then, as a visible sign, He adds: “Rise, pick up your mat, and go home” (v. 11).
 

What a wonderful example of healing! Christ’s action is a direct response to the faith of those people, to the hope they put in Him, to the love they show that they have for each other. And so, Jesus heals, but He does not simply heal the paralysis. Jesus heals everyone, He forgives sins, He renews the life of the paralyzed man and his friend. He makes him born again, let’s say it that way. It is a physical and spiritual healing, all together, the fruit of personal and social contact. Let’s imagine how this friendship, and the faith of all those present in that house, would have grown thanks to Jesus’s action, that healing encounter with Jesus!

And so we can ask ourselves: today, in what way can we help heal our world? As disciples of the Lord Jesus, who is the physician of our souls and bodies, we are called to continue “His work, work of healing and salvation” (CCC, 1421) in a physical, social and spiritual sense.

Although the Church administers Christ’s healing grace through the Sacraments, and although she provides healthcare services in the remotest corners of the planet, she is not an expert in the prevention or the cure of the pandemic. She helps with the sick, but she is not an expert. Neither does she give specific socio-political pointers (see St Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima adveniens, 14 May 1971, no. 4). This is the job of political and social leaders. Nevertheless, over the centuries, and by the light of the Gospel, the Church has developed several social principles which are fundamental (see The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 160-208), principles that can help us move forward in preparing the future that we need. I cite the main ones which are closely connected: the principle of the dignity of the person, the principle of the common good, the principle of the preferential option for the poor, the principle of the universal destination of goods, the principle of the solidarity, of subsidiarity, the principle of the care for our common home. These principles help the leaders, those responsible for society, to foster growth and also, as in the case of the pandemic, the healing of the personal and social fabric. All of these principles express in different ways the virtues of faith, hope and love.

In the next few weeks, I invite you to tackle together the pressing questions that the pandemic has brought to the fore, social ills above all. And we will do it in the light of the Gospel, of the theological virtues and of the principles of the Church’s social doctrine. We will explore together how our Catholic social tradition can help the human family heal this world that suffers from serious illnesses. It is my desire that everyone reflect and work together, as followers of Jesus who heals, to construct a better world, full of hope for future generations (see Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, 24, November 2013, no. 183). Thank you.

Read the entire document here.