March 14. Sunday Lent 4B.Laetare. Fr Brian said,   “I thought that we should focus on God’s love and mercy in the light of justifiable punishment for wrongdoings, corruption and idolatry.   The Israelites were repeatedly caught up in this cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness, restoration and sin again.  It is almost the same as the lesson we have to learn from Covid-19. In the beginning solidarity was the in-word and we listened to the World Health Organisation and also to Pope Francis at the Prayer Moment in March 2020.  Then people started arguing, refusing to obey directives, having issues with the police and we were sent back into lockdown.

God blessed us and salvation appeared with the speedy development of vaccines, but then again, regions of the world, especially the richer countries bought up the stocks for themselves.  Then, with alcohol banns being partially relaxed the local restaurant association was complaining about some who disobey, hold big gatherings with music, dancing and drink.   Others, partially out of compassion, hold big funerals and risk becoming superspreaders.  Breaking these laws is sinful as it hurts everyone. The need for fraternity has to come into play.

Scripture. In those days all the leading priests and the people were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations and they polluted the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The Lord sent persistently to them by his messengers because he had compassion on his people, but they kept mocking the messengers of God, till the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, till there was no remedy.  And the Chaldeans burnt the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burnt all its palaces. 2 Chron. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.   John3:16.  

Pope Francis: “we realized that no one is saved alone; we can only be saved together.  But the inability to work together became quite evident.   For all our hyper-connectivity we witnessed a fragmentation that made it more difficult to resolve problems that affect us all.  It is my desire that in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Brotherhood between all men and women.  Here we have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream together, as a single human family, children of the same earth, which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice. FT 8

St Francis was not just an icon for simplistic peace and love of nature. He proposed to his followers a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospels contained in his teachings summed up in The Teaching of Teachings: Love.

Reflect, share, act, pray.  Reuse, reduce, recycle should be the general approach to caring for creation. How can we adopt this more fully?