Last Tuesday evening our son Mikos called. The phone call was in regard to a conversation he had with a doctor friend of his. The message was how Mike and I needed to be careful and what we can do to prevent from getting the COVID-19. Mike was already in bed, so he had a restful night’s sleep. Not me, I was anxious and turned on the news. The overly dramatic reporting was about the single-digit headcount of how many people had been infected. I finally turned off the doomsday messages and went to bed. Mikos asked me if we were prepared. “Prepared for what? ” I answered. Mikos said “Mom, if either you or dad get sick you’re going to need supplies.” That was my last thought as I got into bed; needless to say, I could not sleep.

The Rosary

I fumbled in the dark, looking for my rosary that I keep on my nightstand, I clutched it and started to pray. I prayed for any fear to leave me and not to be anxious about this ever-changing virus. Throughout the prayer I kept receiving the word “repent, repent.” I asked God to forgive me of any hidden transgressions on my behalf. Then I prayed the Rosary with special intentions, dedicating each decade for God to intervene against this virus, and for the remission of all of our sins. Finally around 3:30 a.m. I fell asleep. As prayerful and faithful as I attempt to be, I got so caught up in the snares of all the negative news and the sensationalism of the virus that it caused me to stumble. I’m happy to report that from this day forth, I will thank God for my health on a daily basis. Today is a new day, nothing has improved with the situation. As a matter of fact, it’s escalated from bad to worse; but I remain faithful and concentrate on keeping my eyes on God. I would imagine that this pandemic has changed a lot of us. We are all praying more, and asking God to help us. We are in this together, in these turbulent times  that we all have to get through. The  Rosary prayers are all found in the Bible, the Apostles’ Creed is found in all four Gospels, The Magnificat (the Hail Mary) can be found in Luke 1:42-48, and the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples, is found in Matthew 6:9-13. We should all be in prayer. The Rosary is a powerful means of prayer. At three o’clock I will be praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet; this too, is a powerful prayer, asking Jesus to have mercy on us and the whole world. You can google the prayer, so please join the thousands who are praying this prayer at three o’clock.

Leah

My niece Leah was visiting from Arizona last  week. She and her kids were staying at a hotel near Disneyland. They had planned to visit the park for three days. The weather was favorable for the first two visits, but on Thursday it rained; it rained bad news too. The coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, and, shortly after that, it was announced that Disneyland was closing down the park effective Saturday. I knew Leah and her children were at the park, and, in concern for them, I texted her to inform her of the closing. I also thought it odd that Disneyland would make this drastic announcement. I got suspicious and wanted Leah and the kids out of there. Poor Leah was getting text messages to evacuate from her father at the same time. Between the two of us we upset her so much that she thought she was coming down with the virus. I am so sorry for overreacting and making matters worse, but I wanted them to be safe.

Supplies

I believe that God will supply all of our needs, because He said he would.

Philippians 4:19 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹⁹ My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Mike always makes sure we have plenty of supplies, but we were a little low on toilet paper. I needed to make my normal run to Sprouts for my Ezekiel bread. Much to my disbelief, I found three packages of green, environmentally safe toilet paper there on the shelf,. Without giving it a second thought I grabbed them and put them in my cart. Another shopper came by and said, “Are you taking them all? I just need one pack?” I quickly took one out and placed it in her cart. So now as part of my supplies, I have the smallest rolls of toilet paper ever.  I do not plan to go out and hunt down more supplies because I trust God for all of my provisions. For those who trust the Lord, our supplies will never run dry.

1 Kings 17:14-16 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

¹⁴ For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” ¹⁵ She left and did as Elijah had said. She had enough to eat for a long time—he and she and her household. ¹⁶ The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Elijah.

Ashes and Sackcloth

Have you ever heard of the Castel Sant’Angelo? This castle is located near the Vatican. Perched on top of the castle is a statue of St. Michael the Archangel.

In 590 A.D. Europe suffered a great plague; more than 100 million people died as a result. Pope Gregory the Great pleaded for the intercession of St. Michael to help fight this epidemic. Because the plague continued to ravage the city of Rome, Pope Gregory ordered a procession of people reciting litanies to go around the city. The procession included a Miraculous image of Our Lady, painted by St. Luke. Before long the air was cleaned of it’s impurities. Those in the procession heard angels singing around the Virgin’s image. The participants all saw St. Michael standing atop the castle, putting his bloody sword into his sheath. In gratitude Pope Gregory had a statue of St. Michael placed on top of the castle. This victory revealed that the Lord ended the plague, protecting Rome and the Church.

Prayer to St. Michael

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

We all need to get on our knees and pray. Prayer will change the course of these turbulent times. Join me in praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 o’clock every day! Plead the Blood of Jesus over your doorpost so the Angel of Death will pass your home (Passover).

My Prayer:

Dear Lord, with fear and trembling we fall to our knees. We understand that you have allowed this chastisement for the direction we have taken as a nation. We have permitted sin to rule the world. We ask You to protect us and our household. We plead the Blood of Jesus over our country and the rest of the world. Lord, reveal all offenses that we committed against You. Open our hearts to forgive to allow us to live in peace. Lord, we are here to do Your will! God Bless America and the rest of the world!