CATHOLICISM in the Time of CORONAVIRUS
CATHOLICISM in the time of CORONAVIRUS STEPHEN BULLIVANT Word on Fire, Park Ridge, IL 60068 © 2020 by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-943243-63-1 Stephen Bullivant, 1984– www.wordonfire.org For David Sanders, OP Our brethren who are freed from this world by the Lord’s summons are not to be lamented, since we know that they are not lost, but sent before; that, departing from us, they precede us as travellers, as navigators are accustomed to do; that they should be desired, but not bewailed; that the black garments should not be taken upon us here, when they have already taken upon them the white raiment there. –St. Cyprian of Carthage TABLE OF Contents FOREWORD i by Bishop Robert Barron PREFACE vii CHAPTER ONE 1 Everything Is Tears CHAPTER TWO 14 Facts Without Fear CHAPTER THREE 30 No Bodiless Phantom CHAPTER FOUR 50 The Prayers of the Church AFTERWORD 65 “One Step Enough for Me” APPENDIX 68 Urbi et Orbi Message by Pope Francis NOTES 77 FOREWORD The COVID-19 pandemic has been, for countless people around the world, a great and unexpected trial. At the time of this writing, over two million cases of coronavirus have been confirmed world- wide (with America comprising over a quarter of that number), and over one hundred thousand people have died. Shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, school campuses, sports stadiums, and airports are all emptying out, countless people are self-quarantining in their homes, and the economy is showing signs of serious distress. What seemed just a short time ago a fairly stable state of affairs, medically, politically, and economically, has been turned upside down—and we will likely be dealing with the virus and its impacts for months to come.
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