Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
In His justice, God punishes us for our transgressions. In His mercy, God forgives and heals us. In His love, God seeks to bring us back to Himself. The scourge of COVID-19 points us to all three.
The world is deep in the darkness of sin and evil. People, including many Christians, have turned away from God. With COVID-19, God wants to draw our attention to our sorry condition, and by His grace to return to Him.
How has the world sinned? Let us look at where COVID-19 has hit hardest and see if there is a connection. Here are the countries with the most deaths from COVID-19, as of 3:20 am GMT today.
#1 – Italy with 6,820 deaths
The epicenter of the epidemic in Italy is in Bergamo. Last fall, the diocese of Bergamo published a prayer to Pachamama on its website: “Pachamama of these places, drink and eat this offering, so that this land is fruitful. Pachamama, good Mother, be generous!” Pachamama is the pagan idol presented at the Vatican during the Amazon Summit. The worship of Mother Earth is idolatry.
The highest number of priests to die due to COVID-19 are from Bergamo.
The Holy See, though in an independent territory that is the Vatican State, is situated within the boundaries of Rome, Italy.
Spiritual note: Most of those who have died in Bergamo are elderly people. They are beloved by God. I would assume most of them lived fruitful Catholic lives. As such, death is just a gateway for them to heaven. They are being taken by God from their earthly loneliness, isolation, abandonment and suffering, and being brought to a place where there are no more tears, mourning or pain. They are the fortunate and blessed ones.
#2 – China with 3,281 deaths
China is the huge red dragon. It is led by an atheistic regime that oppresses its own people, by forced abortion in the millions, incarceration of minorities by the millions, and brutal suppression of religion. It is a superpower that seeks world domination, led by its Communist Party. It surely seeks to spread and impose its atheistic rule over the whole world.
#3 – Spain with 2,991 deaths
Spain brought the faith to many countries, notably to the Philippines and much of Latin America. But it has become very secular, liberal and modernist. It has embraced the culture of death (divorce, abortion, euthanasia), and legalized same-sex marriage in 2005. Only 3% of Spaniards consider religion as one of their three most important values (even lower than the 5% European average). While 71% self-identify as Catholics, only 13% go regularly to Sunday Mass.
The top three pilgrimage places for Catholics are (1) the Holy Land, (2) the Vatican, and (3) El Camino de Santiago. This latter is a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, which is in Galicia, Spain.
#4 – Iran with 1,934 deaths
Iran is the seat of radical Muslim extremism. It supports Islamic terrorist groups. It seeks to impose sharia law upon the world and push Islamic rule and domination.
#5—France with 1,100 deaths
France is the so-called eldest daughter of the Church. But it has become very secular, liberal and modernist. It legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. As of 2012, one-third of the French people considered themselves atheists. While 47% are Catholics, only about 4.5% attend Mass regularly.
Lourdes, the place of healing, is in France.
#6 – USA with 782 deaths
The USA is a divided nation, where the war between good and evil is being fiercely fought. On the one hand, you have the liberals, progressives, modernists, secular humanists. They are anti-God, anti-family and anti-life. They promote sexual licentiousness, abortion and the deeply diabolical transgenderism. On the other hand, you have the pro-God, pro-family and pro-life Americans.
The future of this nation is on who will emerge victorious in the November elections this year. If the Democrats win, that will be the beginning of the end. Further chastisement from God will follow. If the Republicans win, there will be a good chance of redeeming traditional American values, which stem from Judeo-Christian values.
What happens is of consequence for the whole world. America is still the world leader. Its values are what will greatly influence the rest of the world.
God’s message
The three greatest threats to the world and to Christianity are (1) Western liberalism, (2) Islamic radical fundamentalism, and (3) Chinese atheism. These relate to the countries listed above, which have been hardest hit. COVID-19 is God’s slap on the world’s wrist, reminding us of how we are abandoning Him, and inviting us to return to Him.
Today, with societies under lockdown, we are being deprived of what most people value—socializing, dining out, sports, entertainment, concerts, shopping, gambling, etc. God’s lesson is that these are not what really matter most. In fact, many of these may lead us away from virtuous lives, as we indulge in what the world has to offer. But COVID-19 is also depriving us of what faithful Catholics hold dear—the Eucharistic celebration, the sacraments, Holy Communion. Well, many Catholics have not been faithful in partaking of these. God is reminding us that whatever good we have will be taken away if we do not make use of and appreciate them. And hopefully, the current deprivation will lead to a greater desire to fully embrace what God has given us.
Now there is always a silver lining in every dark cloud. With regard to COVID-19, this scourge also brings blessings. What are those?
* More personal time to pray and study. Read more of the Bible and Christian books. Learn more about the faith and such important aspects as pro-life from reliable Catholic Internet resources. We are praying that this scourge be over, so do not waste any time. You may not have as much free time again.
* More quality time with our loved ones in the family home.
* Greater appreciation for what we are missing, especially Mass and Holy Communion.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. It is also the Incarnation, when Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. Jesus came into the world and won for us our salvation. He returns in glory to bring his faithful flock to heaven. May Jesus become incarnate in our hearts and minds, enabling us to see God’s mysterious action in the world, and assuring us that He loves us and is always with us. He is Emmanuel.
God bless and protect you all.
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