A Special Message in Unsettling Times
Where do we find God in COVID-19?
Priests are not immune to the fears and anxieties many are feeling right now.
“At first I said I was ‘frightened’, but then I changed the word to ‘overwhelmed’. I was ‘overwhelmed’ that something like this could happen,” Sydney Catholic Schools’ chaplain Father Gary Perritt (pictured) said in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think all of us are overwhelmed,” he observed.
“It (COVID-19) has slowed us down and got us to think about ‘What are the essential things?’ and ‘Who are the essential people?’
“There’s a lot of silence at the moment. Maybe this silence is a new habit that could teach us to listen more to one another” – Father Gary Perritt
“I know for me, I’ve called people I haven’t spoken to for ages to ask ‘Are you okay?’ It’s prompted me to realise how important people are in my life. People I normally see regularly, I miss them. I video-conference, but it’s not the same.”
Asked, where does he find God in all of this? Fr Gary answered simply: “We can find God in one another and in helping one another.”
“Look at Him in our doctors, who fall tired and exhausted … police (who) patrol deserted streets, and they are not with their families because they are taking care of ours,” he said, citing the Archbishop of Lima, Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio.
“The coronavirus has helped churchgoers, school teachers and students realise that churches are not being closed. Buildings are being closed. You are the church!” – Father Gary Perritt
“There’s a lot of silence at the moment. Maybe this silence is a new habit that could teach us to listen more to one another,” reflected Fr Gary.
“The way we are treating one another brings out the quiet heroes, heroes we sometimes hadn’t noticed before,” Fr …
