The Coronavirus epidemic can lead everyone to take note that nature and the human condition remain fragile, even in the time of global development. It is from this realistic consideration that Pope Tawadros, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has decided to spread through the media a daily spiritual reflection, in this time marked by a pandemic that does not seem to spare any corner of the world, reported Fides News Agency.
In his first message, released on Thursday 19 March, Pope Tawadros stressed that in the time of the Coronavirus epidemic, all humanity seems to be in an unprecedented situation, where the men and women of our time had almost pushed themselves to worship themselves as demigods, forgetting that they were fragile and mortal creatures. This loss of perception of one’s own creatural nature – added the Coptic Patriarch – is also at the root of the most devastating social phenomena that have afflicted humanity in recent times: violence, arrogance, greed, selfishness, widespread depression, frustration, suicidal impulses. The existential message conveyed by the pandemic – remarked the Primate of the Coptic Orthodox Church – is that of rediscovering one’s own weakness. A condition that cannot lead to bewilderment and fear if the mercy of God for every human being is experienced. «Have mercy on us, O God, have pity on us, at all times». This is the prayer that according to Pope Tawadros every person can repeat, finding comfort in these difficult times.