COVID causing dire need?

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.

   Indeed, we are in dire need.  That Scripture comes from the Parable of the Prodigal Son [Luke 15:14].  Whether you believe the pandemic is valid or not, we are in dire need to get through this.  And when there appears to be no way out, we can turn to God and know that He can get us through this.

"If I close heaven so that there is no rain, if I command the locust to devour the land, if I send pestilence among my people, if then my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and heal their land." [2 Chronicles 7:13-14] - The Lord to Solomon

   We need to 'humble ourselves, pray, seek the Face of God, and turn from our evil ways'.  And what better way than the Rosary?  In the Rosary, we not only pray, but we humble ourselves by asking Mary to pray for us knowing that her prayers are more powerful than ours.  And if we focus on the mysteries of the Rosary, we are reflecting on God's salvation for us with Mary who first "reflect[ed] on them in her heart" [Luke 2:19].  By doing so, we 'seek the Face of God'.

   If we do all of these things, Mary will gently, as only our Mother could, show us our evil ways.  Then, we choose if we have the courage to put aside our evil ways.  Our Mother will make sure we have the strength to do so.  And by doing so, we will have brought down blessings on us, our families, our communities and upon the whole world.  And that is what is needed right now.  People willing to step up with a Holy courage not of this world just like the disciples at Pentecost.

   I challenge all of you to pray the Rosary daily.  If you can, do so with your family.  That may be a lot at first, especially for a family.  Instead, you can start with a weekly family Rosary.  Each weekday, do a decade of the Rosary and, by Friday, your family has prayed a full Rosary.

   Don't know how to pray the Rosary?  Do not be discouraged.  Before I prayed my first Rosary with my wife, I had NEVER prayer the Rosary before.  It was humbling, but oh the graces I have received from it.  Here is a nice link explaining how to pray the Rosary.  http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/rosaries/how-to-pray-the-rosary.cfm

   And what of our evil ways?  We all have committed sin, but sometimes we fail to see our sins of omission.  We are to be the Good Samaritan and not the passerby's.  "[Y]our brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground." [Genesis 4:10]  The Lord said this to Cain.  Surely, He says it to us as well, remembering the grave sin of abortion in our very midst.

   Joseph, you were in the constant presence of Our Savior and Our Mother.  You were entrusted with Jesus and Mary and now we entrust ourselves to you and ask that you help us to always seek the Face of God in our midst.