COVID 19 A BOON OR DOOM FOR THE WORLD?

The Covid 19 whatsoever its origin and reason, human kind has come to a halt from it all time busyness. It is not only swallowing the human life but also incredibly pushing the humanity to an uncertain and multifarious future with potentially profound and long term impacts on global life and economy.  Now is the time to separate fact from fiction, subjective from objective.

Organisations are going to be faced with tough choices regarding how to successfully steer their day today activities amid challenges, as well as an explosion of conflicting information and views on how to potentially do their business.

Religious institutions too are not far from this situation that demand them find alternatives to be, Sisters Adorers of Kolkata Province had very many plans and programmes chalked out, but CORONA the pandemic appeared as “thunder in the blue”. We remained along with our world around a standstill, forced to quarantine ourselves from all our personal and social services. During this cessation, we remained inside of our closed doors. Perhaps during this quarantine – afraid of an atom size virus – that infected 7 million people all over the world gave opportunities for the Mother earth and the nature to cure and recover themselves from the human atrocities meted out to them through our irresponsible, thoughtless and acquisitive behaviours.

There is no more noise and air pollution through loud speakers, smokes emitting from vehicles, factories etc. Wild life and birds started to enjoy their life freely moving and singing outside of their hide outs. Streets remained empty, eateries became vacant, factories stopped, and business collapsed, so also worship places.

We Sisters Adorers  life too was not different from the public. For us prayer became intensive, food became tasty, medicine became scanty, less time for grumbling but more time for reflection and prayer.  Community became full, chapel became the most often visited place thus Our Lord had the company of His Adorers always in this pandemic – quarantine. It has taught us to live with minimum, contented with fewer. We learn to listen and appreciate the Creator God through long time meditation and prayer. It also taught us to listened to nature and enjoy it in the silence of the world. However for us it was a time for introspection – how do I live and lived my life as a committed person? Do I find the need to be closer to the Father God, our creator? Just like an overused cell that is to be recharged. As if He says to us that “He” knows if not recharged enough, the battery of the world would explode and the whole creation would blow off. There was ample space and time to be with the Lord to be grateful for His intervention in our life.

Majority of us had to be contented with on line Eucharistic celebrations and of course to be faithful to other religious practices without fail, but with more fervour, and knowing the value of missing something very much dear. Contacting regularly through media of social communication the women and staff at our centres and occasionally by our physical presence.

It was a never ending wait to see the end of Corona, but in vain .While all the institutions Gov. and non-Governmental institutions planned work on line, we too planned to hold meetings and working on lines. As the time passed we understood the need to live our life with the deadly virus. Here our prayer life seems to be more realistic, trusting and abandoning ourselves in to hands of our Abba Father who knows what is best for us. We felt the urge to reach out to the needy specially the women of our mission, collecting and reaching them what is necessary for their survival.

For us Adorers in Kolkata province though outwardly we remained quartenine, inwardly we were with our recipients and our needy world around, seeking help from others and reaching out to them visibly. As the lockdown eased in all our houses sisters were not only praying for the world but also reaching out to the needy with our widow’s mite.

To be true, it’s heartening to see the haves¨ has reached to the have not. People are becoming more and more altruistic, some people are poor but so rich by heart.  This pandemic Covid 19 will make us globally one by chiselling off our selfishness.  It’s so ironic that “it takes sadness to know what happiness is, noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence¨. Sought of to say that, Covid 19 brought so much loss in human life and resources. It has left us with lots of anxiety, fear and uncertainty of the future. But then, it helped us to become more altruistic, brought to the Mother Earth and the nature, relaxation from their overuse due to human greed.  

Let us hopefully wait for Gods time that the Corona Virus may leave the world for ever and bring back a more just  and harmonious society where all of us humans, animals and the plant life find its place in this universes which is the common home for all.

              Sr Lissiamma Joseph AASC

                        Liluah