Coronavirus, like every global crisis, has exposed our helplessness and vulnerability as human beings. It has shown the limits of what we can or cannot control. Apart from the ability to control the virus, we struggle with a lot of other things, including our faith, our greed, and even our very humanity.
We see this clearly in the polarization within the faith community. When the recommendation for social distancing was made as a way to flatten the curve of the spread, the faith community had to take a tough decision. Churches were to be shut down, allowing for only private celebrations. This did not go down well. Most people in areas that are yet to be affected interpreted it as the sign of the end times, some concluded that the devil has entered the church, and so on. Mosques of course were shut down, so Muslims are also caught up in the faith crisis. Well for those at the center of the crisis, like the small Italian community of Bergamo that had to bury someone every 30 minutes and ‘victims face death alone’, closing the church to stem the spread of the virus could only be a welcome development. Whichever side one belongs in the debate, it is a time to test whether our faith is only tied to the mountains and structures or not. God is still with us in this time of crises, irrespective of our faith. God’s love has always been unconditional, notwithstanding that we ought to respond to it.
The next sector that was hit was the economy. Some countries were more concerned about the economy than the lives of their citizens. Besides the concerns of the stock markets and oil prices, the hand sanitizer and tissue papers did a good job of unmasking our priorities and greed. Once the scientists recommended the use of hand sanitizer as a preventive measure, our humanity was flung very far away. Prizes of hand sanitizer skyrocketed – as high as 400-500% increase. People wanted to make more money out of a common calamity. Francis Aubee reacting to this inflation in a time of crises, articulates the extent of our loss of humanity in the article “Greed ‘Economics’ in Times of Need – Coronavirus,” published in medium.com. Some people like the brothers, Matt and Noah Colvin, drove around and stockpiled bottles of hand sanitizer to sell at outrageous prices on eBay and Amazon. Yet this madness did not only end with the profiteers or with hand sanitizer. Another drama was seen in the panic-, or rather greed-buying that followed the announcement of the shutdown. Greed emerged as a common human denominator. People were buying items with zero consideration to the persons waiting in queue for the same product. The most unfortunate victim was the tissue paper. You heard me well. Tissue paper became the gold! In fact, a man was reported to have mistakenly ordered for tissue paper that would last for 12 years! 2304 rolls, friends! Well, it was reported as a mistake. Perhaps, he ordered for only 48. No pun intended!
Indeed, in this period, vanity has presented itself apophatically. The lesson of vanity is no longer to be learnt in a positive way, for instance in an example where a wealthy greedy person dies leaving all the valuable but needless things that he or she had acquired while alive. Rather vanity stares at you in the face as you see all the luxuries of life, still glittering behind the glasses of locked up shops, while the owners have all embarked on self-quarantine to save their lives from coronavirus. In my city, there exists one very long shopping street, one of the longest in the country. You can even find it on the Monopoly game. It is now completely abandoned. Even the tractors that were repairing the road are left there. Once upon a time, the people of the city were debating on whether to open shops on Sundays or not. For some of them, the Sunday holiday belongs to the Christians but we now live in a post-Christian society. Why keep it still? They even showed zero regard to the peasants of old who fought to have Sunday dedicated to rest. Sunday is not for Christians! God can be worshipped every day! Today, both the proponents and opponents are not even in/near their shops on Mondays. Every day is now a holiday! Vanity dares us all.
Nevertheless, just as the rings of the coronavirus hang together on the main bulb, this is the time for us to show our true humanity just as the nurses, doctors and scientists at the frontline of combating this virus are doing; it is time to avoid the divisions that have held us down for so long and fight together; it is time to re-assess how we treat immigrants running away from war and death; and it is time to show love and concern even in our social-distancing. While scavenging, just remember that your neighbour also needs to survive. Above all, may God be with us all and may He deliver us all!
Alongside One Another 
This is a must read!!!!! i wish everyone could just take out one minute to go through this article, for sure a line or two will make a difference in people’s lives during this crucial moment we are living in the world. Thanks father Pascal for this “EYE-OPENER”
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Thanks a lot Mildred for your comment. In times like this, we are to show our real humanity – love and care for one another. God bless you!
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Dear Fr. Pascal,
I appreciate this piece. It is thought provoking. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks a lot Lilian for reading and for your comment. Please help to share it. We need to recover our humanity in this time of crisis. *Our old people are equally affected most, first they are categorized as the most vulnerable due to weak immune system, and second, when they struggle to go shopping they only find empty shelves. We don’t need some ‘Hunger Games’ this time! We need love and care for one another.
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This is brain storming ,a call for sober reflection ,a time to be our brothers keeper and to show our faith in God .
It’s very informative and educative .
May God bless you and grant you more wisdom and knowledge of understanding through Christ Jesus our Lord .Amen
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Thank you so much for the very apt comment. The way we care for each other at this moment of collective calamity says a lot about our humanity. You just said it all. May God bless you too with His love and grace. I remain grateful.
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Very true and elegantly written!
The Coronavirus endemic has not only confirmed the indubitable fact of our human vulnerability, but it has shockingly exposed our high propensity towards the “self” – egocentrism. This, in a certain way, is not bad, because if one does not take care of himself/herself, no one will ever act by proxy to that effect. Although this propensity towards the “self” has its own inherent dangers, it could as well be seen from a positive perspective, if and only if, we realize that the “other” is contained in the “self” and the “self” finds its fullest meaning and truest expression in the “other.” If for instance, I take good care of myself as well as my personal hygiene, I am in a certain way, taking care of a smaller/ larger group to which I directly or indirectly belong. To do or act otherwise, will imply doing harm (overtly or covertly) to a larger/smaller unit of my community or society.
My point is – we need to give serious attention to what I may dub, “the social-self” in every aspect of our lives. My simple logic is: whatever affects the “self,” may as a matter of fact, affect the “other.” The fact that the “self” reveals the mystery of our human interconnectedness is obviously proven in the outbreak of the Covid-19. What began in a person or a number of persons in the Asian continent (China to be precise) has frenetically spread like a harmattan bushfire to other continents, countries and regions of the world. You see my point! This then, behooves on all of us, white or black, American, African, Asian, male or female, rich or poor to sincerely reconsider not only the cosmopolitan reality of our human existence, but also the truth about our common humanity, which is enshrouded in vulnerability.
Apart from the natural leaning towards the “self” in the wake of the Covid-19, what I find most appalling is the constant emphasis of the effects of the epidemic on economies. Accepted, I do not doubt that an analysis of its impact on world economy needs to be done, but tackling what is at stake – human life, should be our immediate concern. Thus, rather than worry about losing billions of euros or dollars, the world should be concerned about the loss of a single human life – though many deaths have sadly been recorded. This is not the time to count our economic losses, because our greatest loss is the breath of life. And so, we need more humanists than capitalists in this moment of difficulty and bewilderment.
Let me conclude on a scary, albeit factual note. If we are NOT infected, we are affected, and if we are not infected, we should not forget that, what has not happened to us has not passed us by.
There is hope! Yes, there is! There is hope if both the “self” and the “other” unite in a most friendly and compassionate way to defend our common heritage.
Thank you, Dr. Paschal for these incisive and provocative insights about the raging effects of the Corona virus outbreak!
Vasumu doffs his hat for you!
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Thank you so much Vasumu for that elaborate and enlightening comment. I was particularly struck by the line ” If we are NOT infected, we are affected” which is the simple truth. We are all affected and it is time that we act for the common good. God bless you brother!
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Indeed, vanity dares us
I hope this brings us together than further separate us.
This is a wonderful piece Fr.
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Thanks a lot Chibuzo for reading and for the comment. God bless.
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Fr. Paschal,
You captured the heat and call of the moments in those lines, in their precision and simplicity. You just made my evening.
Good bless you!
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Thank you very much Cletus for reading and for your encouragement. Let’s keep sharing the need for us to be truly human in this moment of common calamity. God bless.
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The hustle and bustle of China finally quieted down, the restless society finally calmed down, and the restless Chinese people gradually calmed down.
The *Wild Animals* that were once held by humans in cages finally managed to *Keep Humans in “Cages”*
Humans finally lowered their proud head and begun to think quietly: Are we still the king of the earth? *Mankind finally felt the power of Nature once again*
In the face of the threat of death, human beings have only begun to reflect seriously, only to realize that a lack of awe-inspiring social atmosphere will lead to more harm and more risks.
The greedy heart is being purified by the virus, and the mouth that loves to eat is being punished by the virus. The people who have been soaking in the bright red and green places all day have been driven home by the virus, saying…. *Go home*
There are fewer and fewer people on the street, few cars on the road,
*The Air is getting Fresher…., the Haze is gone…, the Sky is getting Bluer…., the Sun is getting Brighter…., Family Lives are getting Warmer, Harmonial, and Cordial and People’s hearts have become more and more Calm*
People who haven’t read for Years have picked up books at home. Parents and children who had no communication with their children, couples who couldn’t speak few words a year have opened up the conversation box. Children who did not know how to respect the elderly has also begun to be filial.
The virus taught human beings a vivid and profound lesson. It made us understand awe. It also let us know what is called *”Good Times”*. It also made us feel true love on earth. It made us gradually fall in love *”Return to the Road”*, we really should be grateful for this *”Enemy”*, we need such an “enemy” to give us *Reminder”* and give us *”Empowerment”*
The virus will not leave so quickly, it needs to see the *”Cultivation” of human’s good habits*, and the virus will not continue to rag, because *Human love will gather more power* to keep the virus away, time will tell us everything, Time will also prove what is right.
THE VIRUS 🦠 REMINDS US THAT THERE IS AN ALMIGHTY.
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Thank you so much Noella for that elaborate comment. In all things it is a time to be truly human and to care for one another despite the social distancing.
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Thanks Paschal for this well-articulated work, for this problem truly exposed how helpless and naked we can be in the face of crisis. As well, I believe it exposed how we value what should matter, rewarding and pricing artists and celebrities more, over the academia and health workers in general who have continued to work in the face of this crisis while football and show-business in short down. Thanks for sharing your thought.
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Bless you my brother. It is important that you highlighted the question of what we consider as important. Thank you so much.
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The crisis has just expose some of the hidden characters of human, greed and selfishness, why some poeple buy all the hand sanitizer to resell it online, some poeple contacted the virus because they couldn’t find it to buy or were to buy in order to prevent the Virus.
They forget to know that! Nobody can enjoy this world alone we needs others.
Is time we change from our greed, selfishness, and start thinking about the well being of our neighbours as we think of ourselves.
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It is so sad to see this dark side of our humanity, but we also see heroic acts of people trying to help others especially the aged, we see the physicians working round the clock, and so on. But like you mentioned we need to learn the lesson of good neighbourliness. Thank you so much Delphine and stay safe with your family. God bless.
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Humanity is full of fear & greed may God help us this period. Thank you padre for this.
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Thanks Adaugo. May God save us and help us to stay true to our true nature as interdependent humanity.
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You spoke the truth with clarity and charming simplicity, Fr. Paschal. Thanks for writing this beautiful piece and sharing it with us.
More power to your elbows!!
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Thanks a lot my brother. I appreciate your reading and commenting on the piece. God bless.
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Wow… This is brain storming… Thanks for sharing Fr.
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Thanks a lot Chinelo. God bless
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