The Catholic Leader Flipbook - Issue 5594 - March 22

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The Catholic Leader, March 22, 2020
News
TALKING POINT
Contents
NEWS
CENTREPOINT
12 Caritas
PEOPLE
ENTERTAINMENT
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CHAT WITH US
FAITH IN LIFE BY SR MELISSA DWYER
Faith the size of a mustard seed
“If you have faith the size of a mustard
seed, nothing will be impossible for you.”
(Matthew 17:20)
UNDENIABLY, we are living in
a critical moment in the history of
humanity, with the pandemic of
coronavirus getting progressively
worse on an international scale.
As well as physical illness, fear is crippling
millions of people across the world.
As we reach the extent in Australia where
people fight over toilet paper, I find myself each
morning waking up to check the news and see
how far the virus has spread across the world
during the night.
In the midst of this global crisis, as we pre-
pare for potentially increased methods of self-
preservation in Australia, we are left to consider,
what does all of this mean for the poor?
We can shut our schools, stop sporting events
and rush out to buy face masks, but none of this
impacts significantly on the most vulnerable in
our local communities.
Those who are marginalised and in need,
starting with our elderly and homeless, are at the
greatest risk.
As some embark on 14 days of self-isolation,
hundreds of thousands of people live in constant
self-isolation in our country and struggle with
the daily plight of loneliness.
As we see other countries in the world urging
people to stay in their homes, what about the
120,000 Australians who have no home to stay
in?
As people of faith, the question remains for
us, how can we be even more conscious of the
needs of the marginalised as coronavirus cases
continue to increase?
How can we continue to be other-centred in
considering not only our own well-being, but
striving to find ways to include those whom
society can tend to overlook?
There is no easy answer to this situation. Pope
Francis invites us to “live this difficult moment
with the strength of the faith, the certainty of
hope and the ardour of charity”.
If we are able, now more than ever we are
called to reach out in concrete ways to those who
have less than ourselves.
But perhaps the most significant thing we can
do is turn to prayer.
At the very least, we are encouraged to be
aware not only of ourselves, but of what corona-
virus means for the poor.
We can bring them to God in our prayer,
conscious that in this moment we need to be
not only people equipped with hand sanitiser,
but also equipped with deep faith that God is in
control, and that He will find a way to provide
for His people.
Let us use this uncertain moment to unite
together in prayer for those who are most vulner-
able in our country and in our world.
Let us not allow fear to overwhelm us, but
rather, let us deepen our trust in God, who re-
minds us that with Him, anything is possible.
Sr Melissa Dwyer is a religious sister
of the Canossian Daughters of Charity in
Brisbane.
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If we are able, now
more than ever we
are called to reach
out in concrete ways to
those who have less than
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