The world is upside down! The planet is in a state of panic!
And all this because of a small, elusive virus that attacks both rich and poor, that crosses borders "without showing its papers"!
And this small, odourless, colourless virus is stronger than any media campaign or international trade union: it blocks the entire world economy, makes the stock exchanges from Tokyo to New York stagger, terrorises all political and economic leaders, calls into question the functioning of the globalised neo-liberal economy, forces us to talk about "downturn"?
"Cast down the mighty from their thrones,..."
Lord God, You who hear the joys and sorrows of this world,
with WMCW movements, united in one heart and one faith, we want to tell you:
Look at the thousands of distressed people,
And give us the strength to widen our gaze!
WE FEAR for our health, for that of our loved ones... with reason doubtlessly... but it is true Lord: Why this fear (sometimes unfounded), when we know well that only You are immortal? And why do we not fear for the children and adults who have lived under the bombs in Syria for 9 years, or in many other countries?
Lord, free them from fear, giving them peace... for which we are also responsible!
WE ARE AFFECTED DIRECTLY or IN OUR ENVIRONMENT. Through the media we know everything about this disease (fatal in 2% of cases) ... but, we have to face the diseases every day, and sometimes as a result of bad working conditions. And we have learned to fight, with our unions, our associations, to overcome them, to get up again!
So why does this disease make us forget the ever-present epidemics: like Ebola (contagious and 80% fatal) which still proliferates in the Congo-DRC... or malaria (not contagious, it is true) but which causes 500,000 deaths every year in sub-Saharan Africa?
Lord, may medical research not forget poor countries, and may every human person in every country have the right to dignified care!
WE ARE TEMPTED TO SUPPLY OF FOOD sometimes by buying everything in the shops... for fear of restrictions. In some countries, even some have bought weapons to protect themselves from thieves! Lord, we are ashamed of this world! This world that forgets that millions of people are dying of hunger or thirst because of our unjust global economy.
Lord, give the leaders of our countries the political courage to dare to carry out an economy of sharing and solidarity, both nationally and internationally
WE LIMIT OUR TRAVEL, OUR VISITS, WE INTERRUPT OUR PROGRAMMES, as a precautionary measure. We have been "confined to our homes", while others are regularly "confined outside": the migrants, the homeless, the expelled, etc... We have changed our pace, we have had time to search for meaning in our lives!
Lord, may this painful experience make us understand the suffering of others, around us, in our country or on the planet. May we continue to reflect on the meaning and scope of our actions, or our choices.
WE ARE INVENTIVE AND GRATEFUL... inventive to communicate, to pray, to work, to relax, to train... This is what often happens in times of crisis! We invent! And we ACKNOWLEDGE all the health workers who have worked so hard.
Lord, make us inventors of "a dignified life for all", "with a land, a housing, a job, a health that allows us to praise You and proclaim loud and clear: STOP THE VIRUSES!
"Stop the viruses!"
- STOP THE VIRUS OF ARMS, which sometimes paralyses us (and then "we are left with no choice"), as if we do not know what to do, when we find ourselves in situations where we do not see what to do, and we take advantage of this to abandon the fight!
- STOP THE VIRUS OF LEGS! the one that prevents us from going towards others, especially those who bother us, with whom we have lived a conflict, those who have not voted like us, those who do not think like us, those who do not pray like us!
- STOP THE EYE VIRUS! The one that blinds us and prevents us from seeing all the sufferings of this world, sufferings linked to war, economic injustices, global warming, migrations, etc... The one that prevents us from seeing the associations, the movements where we can commit ourselves to change all this!
- STOP THE EAR VIRUS! The one that makes us deaf to all calls for solidarity. The one that distorts our understanding by listening only to those who speak of personal or national security, who think only in terms of economic growth and who forget about Humanity!
- STOP THE LANGUAGE VIRUS! It makes us say anything when it suits us! It sometimes dries our tongue and makes us silent and accomplices before injustices, mistreatments, abuses of all kinds!
- STOP THE SPIRIT VIRUS! The one that will make us say (let's hope so in a few weeks), our great joy and our sadness:
- GREAT JOY for having defeated this terrible pandemic TOGETHER.
- SADNESS at the economic deficit (national or world) and that it will have to be paid!
And this virus of the Spirit will even make us put the economy before the Human... as it happens today.
- STOP THE HEART VIRUS (the virus of coronaries= the "authentic coronavirus"): The most dangerous of all! The one that prevents us from REALLY LOVING, as You love us!
The one that stops us from LIVING FULLY, like Your Son, Jesus did up to the Cross!
The one who blocks us from INTENSIVELY INVENTING under the action of Your Spirit!
Yes Lord, help us, through our various WMCW movements
- to be activists of a BETTER HEALTH for OUR PLANET thanks to the vaccine of Your Love!
- to resist all forms of selfishness thanks to the vaccine of the Risen One, which has been given totally !
- to invent other ways of consuming, of producing, etc. thanks to the vaccine of Your Spirit!
May this time of "crossing the desert" strengthen our faith and our commitments!
May he help us read the signs of "Your life stronger than all death".
May he give us the audacity to invent new styles of life and a new economic model, promoting fraternity, solidarity, sustainability, for the common and universal good.
Live true life! Happy Easter party!
WMCW International Council
Fatima, Jean-Claude, Mariléa, Philippe, Bernard
(written on 19 March 2020)
