“Why are you afraid? Do you not have faith?” Is the title of a new book from the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. It contains images and texts that recall the gestures and words of Francis in the extraordinary prayer service “Urbi et Orbi “and the blessing during the coronavirus closure on March 27 last year.
By Robin Gomes
“I walked like that, alone, thinking of the loneliness of so many people … an inclusive thought, a thought with head and heart, together.” These are the words of Pope Francis in the book that recalls the extraordinary moment of prayer that he celebrated on the evening of March 27 last year in a square of St. Peter desolate and flooded with rain, begging that humanity could save from the clutches of the deadly coronavirus. The live event was watched by crowds around the world.
The book, “Why Are You Afraid? Don’t you have faith? ”, It is a brief interview with the Pope of Monsignor Lucio Adrián Ruiz, secretary of the Department of Communication, in which the Holy Father relives that memorable event through photos. The title of the book, taken from the Gospel of Mark (Mk 4:40), is the words of Jesus to his terrified disciples who wake him from sleep in the boat that is thrown into the stormy sea. The Vatican Publishing House (LEV) will make the book available to the public on December 17, when the Pope turns 85.
The first part of the book includes the Pope’s passionate and powerful plea to God for humanity at the March 27 event. The second part contains the development of this reflection in the light of the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church that arose in the months following the event. It encourages people to make the pandemic an opportunity to rethink the meaning of life and existence, get out of it better and not worse, and allow themselves to be questioned and converted.
All on the same boat
“Two things came to my mind: the empty square, the people united in the distance, … and on this side, the migrant boat, that monument …”, the Pope recalls in his interview. “And we are all on the ship, and in this ship, we do not know how many will be able to disembark … A whole drama in front of the ship, the plague, the loneliness … in silence ….”, the Pope remarks, emphasizing that he did not feel alone, but in contact with people at that time.
A particularly moving moment of that March 27 night came when, after a moment of silent prayer before the wet crucifix, he kissed Jesus ’feet. “Kissing the feet of the crucifix,” says the Pope, “always gives hope.” Jesus “knows what it means to walk and knows quarantine because they put two keys in it to keep it in place.” “Jesus’ feet are a compass in people’s lives, when they walk and when they stop. The Lord’s feet touch me a lot …”, the Pope adds. Apart from the crucifix of that deserted square there was also the image of Mary Salus Populi Romani (Mary the health of the Roman people). The prayer service was a kind of stop at the time when Christians around the world joined the event in St. Peter’s Square, to invoke God’s mercy and rethink life in a way personal and global.
Reliving memory
The two parts of the book on prayer and teaching, which are deeply linked, also provide QR code links to a rich variety of Vatican media content.
In line with the Pope’s message for World Communications Day 2020, the Dicastery for Communication book also encourages the art of telling and sharing constructive stories that make us realize that we are all brothers and sisters, part of ‘a story bigger than ourselves. The goal is not just to re-enact a past event, but to propose a memory that becomes flesh today to bear fruit.
At the conclusion of the first part, Monsignor Ruiz explains that the act of March 27 was “a celebration that reflects history,” because it presents human drama to the God of mercy. It is also history because God’s response is His presence in the midst of His people. “The present moment,” explains the secretary of the Dicastery, “is not only marked by this virus, but it is fundamentally sealed by the presence of God.” It needs to be remembered and narrated so that it can be fixed in memory and be part of the “great story of God’s journey with humanity”.
Follow-up to March 27th
The second part includes several interventions by the Pope during the months following the March 27 prayer service, urging a change of direction and leading to the Pope’s last encyclical. All brothers, which also includes passages related to the global pandemic.
In this regard, the Pope has delivered a new cycle of catechesis on the healing of the world during his weekly general audience from August 5 to September 30, 2020. These reflections on the transformation of the roots of our physical diseases, spiritual and social, they addressed issues such as the common good, the preferred option for the poor, the care of the common home, and subsidiarity. Focusing on Christ is key, remembering that no one is saved alone, as the pandemic has made this evident in a concrete way.