The acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese spoke recently with Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., for “La Civiltà Cattolica” about his experience over the last few months. Maybe you can relate:
“Everything was simplified, and I felt a sense of relief. And it focused me on the essentials of my life. On my friends, and on the people I love, the people I need to take care of. On the blessings I’ve had — my children, and every moment with them, every hug and kiss and every goodbye … on my wife, and how lucky I feel to have found someone I was able to grow with and raise a child with … being able to do the work I love.
There is a sense of great urgency today because here we were, suddenly living with the realization that the very air around us, the air that sustains us, could kill us. And for me and for my loved ones and my friends, the circumstances drew us closer together. They cut through all the formalities, all the euphemisms for “friendship” and “community” that have sprung up around us on social media and that often seem more like filters or even barriers to the real thing. And then, something was revealed, bestowed upon us. The old habitual questions — “How are you doing?” “Are you okay?” — became immediate and crucial. They became lifelines. We found that we really were all in this together — not just in the pandemic, but in existence, in life. We truly became one.
I think that for young people, right now, I would love to tell them how fortunate they are to be alive at such a clarifying moment. Many of us think that everything will just go on the way it always has, and of course that’s never really the case — everything is always changing, as this moment reminds us with such force. And it can inspire us to recognize our own ability to effect change for the better.”
From the Sisters of Mercy:
God of infinite mercy, hear our prayer!
In this time of bewilderment and fear, we ask you to give us the courage to take care of one another as Jesus did. For those who are ill, especially those who are frightened and alone, for those who cannot access healthcare, for those who are homeless and lost, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our sadness and grief, we ask you to give us words to comfort one another. For those who are dying, and for those who have already died from this virus, for those who tend them and for those with no one to tend them, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our own anxiety we ask you to give us the courage to support one another as you would. For those who are unexpectedly unemployed, for employers who share what they can, for our government and financial institutions and those who lead them, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our growing awareness that all life is connected, we ask for the heart to respect and cherish one another and all of your creation. That all peoples recognize that we are all your children, hear our prayer!
We trust in you and your power working in us. Please hear and answer our prayers. Amen!
