by Mia Khryselle D. Papas of Manresa School
A pandemic is not something one can experience in his lifetime. Before the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the last recorded in the history was the Spanish flu in the early 1900s. It is a scary situation where there is a virus outbreak that affects the entire world. Since the vaccine is not yet found, people are encouraged to stay at home, thus, sometimes hindering them to see their friends, family, and loved ones from other places, to avoid catching the Covid-19 virus. Most people are working from home while to some unfortunately, lost their jobs. Thus, causing a lot of anxiety to many people around the world.
However, despite of the negative effects of the recent pandemic, it also brought a positive impact to us people. It gave us a lot of time to reflect, and realize what are the things that really matter.
To us Christians, this pandemic might be a wake-up call to revisit our faith and relationship with God. It is actually a blessing in disguise, because I believe that this is one of God’s mysterious ways to bring us closer to Him. In this time of uncertainty, trusting God is the only thing we can hold on to. Believing that He allows these challenges to happen for a reason, and not losing hope that these too will pass, manifests our faith in Him.
Faith in humanity also demonstrates our faith in God. We should therefore show our love and hope to one another that we will recover and heal as one from this pandemic. Big and small ways of showing we care does not really matter, the important is we do these things with sincerity and love. Spreading love and positivity is a way of respecting all of God’s creation. Hence, each one of us should try to be a catalyst of love and positivity in these trying times we are in now.
To nourish one’s faith in God, it is important to have a constant communication with Him. Through praying, one can share and lift to God all his worries and anxieties. Prayer is a very powerful tool in expressing our gratitude for all the blessings, and asking comfort for the pains and sorrows to God. During the recent quarantine period, since people are not allowed to travel and go outside, families gather and pray the rosary and hear online mass regularly. The pandemic actually brought families to pray together as one.
Growing in faith, love and holiness in the time of the pandemic is indeed very difficult. However, keeping the faith in Him and believing that nothing is impossible with God makes each day bearable. The pandemic actually taught me a lot and made me realize the importance of being grateful always. And make sure to value more my relationships with my family and friends and treasure every moment with them. And lastly, it helped me discover and know myself better, thus, enable me to show my love to God, oneself and to others better.
***This piece won 1st place on the Essay Writing contest of Pontifical Mission Societies Philippines in celebration of the World Mission Sunday 2020.
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