By Fr Lawrence Murori
Peace and Health,
At this challenging time, our views may be considerably different. Our pastoral creativity may as well be different even as the bishops continue to exercise “normative” theology. Can we find God in the present difficulties of the virus? Can the light of faith shine brightly especially to help us see the virus?
Now more than ever this is so important to remember. When I can center myself on God, I find I can go through the day with much less worry
Faith is a form of power that enables us to dialogue with our human experience. Faith, therefore, engages us into speech and notably:
Speech is constitutive of reality. Israel actualized and “made available” their God Yahweh by their utterance—i.e. what they proclaimed about Yahweh.
Our proclamation of God even at this challenging time of the coronavirus makes him available.
Please join me to make him available through this dialogue.
Peace and Health,
Today, let us plunge our brains more into Faith and the Internet; their correlation and the answers they can provide within this virus pandemic.
As a lover of truth and not just for the pure love of it, the internet has shortened the distance of the human relationship. By that I mean it has brought individuals together through the voice, videos, world wide web and many other ways. At the same time, it has stolen the human intimacy and touch of relationships and also has made some the “digital immigrants” while leaving others as “digital Natives”.
As we sail through the chaotic period of COVID19 disease, the same internet has promised to be the potential tool to restore and connect us more with God and one another, and a response to the already affected human connections and closeness. Smartphones and the internet are essential in providing real-time tracking of the disease. The internet and computer are offering digital transformation not only of the human-divine relationships and connection but also the economic model alternatives, educational, health, and the information flow.
I am of the view that these are all the good achievements of the internet, the computer, and the android systems. Going back to the question “What if”, the keyword is “IF” and from a theological perspective, the “IF” has no place at all.The reason being that God acts always for our good and he is all-knowing. But from a scientific scope, it is a valuable and broad word that indicates openness of possibilities of different ideas, occurrences, change, and alternatives. Thus, bringing us to our conviction that God as an idea and Being, is never an alternative, occurrence, and he will never change. In fact, he has continually revealed himself through different ways like the “Internet of Things”, chaos, calamities and pacific moments in our lives. Check this Google link and see how it has inconclusive information about the coronavirus; https://www.iflscience.com.
On the contrary, our faith in God is firm even in the midst of a crisis like a coronavirus. And “Internet of Things” comes as a true revelation of our God who enables us to M-Pesa bills, continue with education, economy, liturgical celebrations with the virtual presence of the faith community, and so on.
Consequently, if there was no internet, then we would be leaning to science alone. But we will miss the God of the “Internet of Things” and therefore, fail to find him there. Relationships will go back to close and contact connections then missing the real-time revelation of God. The economy, education, health, and information flow systems will go back to the old models, and therefore slowing down our response to coronavirus.
Better to realize right now with the threat of virus infection, if the idea God was absent, the crisis will likely be more, and the absolute moral norms will lack. Importantly, faith in God at this time of coronavirus is an essential and imminent social capital. St. JohnPaul II once remarked, “Faith grows when shared”. The “Internet of Things” enables us to continue sharing our faith. In that way, our faith in God will continue to grow that our communities of faith likewise will grow despite the physical distance. For the survival of faith communities at this time of crisis by COVID19, and the relationships devoid of fear, faith in God is essential.
Faith and prayer can now connect the faith community and the “Internet” can aid that connection. We thank God for his gift of the internet that has enabled us to create an “Agora” and real-time “Internet of Things”. Be brave, prayerful and faithful.
Fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:19)
Please join me through the internet to connect with God in this time of chaos.
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created and You will renew the face of the earth. Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that in the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen”
FR Lawrence
Let us pray,
Loving and faithful God, the coronavirus reminds us that we have no power and we are dependent on you. We place ourselves in your loving hands. Give eternal rest to all who have died from the virus. Please put your healing hand on those who are ill, and give your protection to us in this time of fear and uncertainty. Calm our fears and help us to trust you as our faithful God. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Our Lady of Help of the Christians, pray for us in this time of need. Amen
Holy Spirit Prayer
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created and You will renew the face of the earth. Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that in the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen”
Stay safe and healthy.
Fr Lawrence
Fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:19)
MA, Pastoral Studies/Practical Theology
+254 735 783 679 (Kenya)
+(504) 239 8257 (USA)
lawrencemurori@gmail.com
