Fr Leonard Dollentas
The world is experiencing painful moments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mankind faces great challenges and countless losses, the biggest of which is human lives. But nothing is more painful than what is happening now in India. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that India currently has the largest number of confirmed cases in Asia. As of May 2021, India registered the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world (after the United States) with nearly 20 million reported cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,780 new fatalities in the last 24 hours as of 5 May 2021.
A vivid account of the situation in India was written by a young frontline doctor working in a hospital in Kerala: “Situation in the private hospital or any other hospital in India is pretty bad under the strain of the second wave of the COVID-19 virus. We are in a situation wherein there are a lot of patients begging for a bed in the hospital. But we are unable to provide them beds because the number of patients are more and there is a severe shortage of hospital beds and oxygen. So the overall scenario, I would say is very dim, very gruesome. We are in the situation of deciding to turn patients away, who want to get care at the hospital. People dying in ambulances because they can’t get into the hospital.” The doctor concluded his depressing accounts with an ardent request: “Tell your people to pray for us here in India, to give us strength to save some lives, we definitely need prayers.”
In this situation of vast suffering and where human resources appear insufficient and we seem not to be able to do nothing, we can only entrust ourselves to the mercy of God. Hence, the English-speaking community of the Cathedral offered the 5:00PM Mass last Sunday as an expression of solidarity and concern for the people of India and the current COVID-19 crisis the country is experiencing. Through the Mass, the faithful express their condolences and deep respect for families, especially to those who are here in Macau who have lost their loved ones to the disease. Fr Leonard E Dollentas, chaplain of the English-community assured the small Indian community that joined the celebration, that they are not alone in bearing the suffering and losses of their loved ones. He emphasized that there are no simple answers to suffering, but there are profound ways of thinking about it, that find their deepest expression in the cross of Jesus where he also suffered.
The solidarity Mass was presided by Fr Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF, an Indian national and a member of the Claretian missionaries stationed in Macau. Fr Mario Bonfaini CMF and Fr Franz Gassner SVD also joined the celebration to express their solidarity for India. Fr Jijo expressed his gratitude to the English-speaking community. In his homily he emphasized that besides solidarity , wisdom for the authorities in India is also needed, so they may be able to save more lives. He recalled how people are forced to die in the streets and those people who are so poor, neglected and are deprived of human dignity.
Meanwhile, as the World Health Organization said that India is now dealing with multiple variants to the coronavirus, the Catholic Church leaders are trying to address a wide range of needs. Despite the number of deaths among the clergy that includes two bishops and a number of religious sisters, the Church is trying to work with individuals and assisting hospitals as they try to expand facilities to accommodate more patients especially the poorest of the poor. (Photo: Glenford Lee)
Follow
