The Coronavirus has caused a global humanitarian crisis all over the world. All plans, strategies and desires have been stopped and now the world has a time of deep reflection. This moment in history causes a change in human lives that needs to be transformed into action.
Brothers and sisters are turning back their eyes to God, to trust in his infinite mercy and ask for his assistance in healing the wounds caused by this pandemic. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to stop all the diseases that have hurt recently: the economic inequalities, the plight of the poor, the environmental abuse against our own Common House.
The Pope invitation during this time is to heal the world through prayer. It is the most powerful way to let the Lord to transform our heart and open ourselves to take care of others. As Pope Francis says: “Reflect and work together, as followers of the healing Jesus, to build a better world full of hope for future generations”.
The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network has been working on an initiative to respond to this call of the Church, too. As a result, a new rosary for this time of pandemic and illnesses has been launched: The Crisis & Health Rosary. The Vatican's COVID-19 Commission, have elaborated the content. The writers, members of the Commission, intended to guide the prayer by linking some of the painful and struggling stories of people from all over the world with the contemplation of the different mysteries of the Rosary.
This rosary wants to strengthen the prayer for the world. For this purpose, real testimonies related to the COVID-19 can be found in each mystery. For example the story of David, who is confined to bed in his home for the elderly, after having tested positive for coronavirus. These are life experiences that will help to rediscover the Gospel lit up by the pandemic situation.
The Crisis & Health Rosary is available for Amazon Kindle and in the Google Play Books store. Furthermore, the Rosary can be downloaded for free as an EPUB, MOBI or PDF through the website www.popesprayer.va and also on this website, here below.
In addition, this new rosary will be also launched for the app Click To Pray eRosary on October 7, day of Our Lady of the Rosary. It can be downloaded totally for free for iOS and Android in five languages: english, italian, french, portuguese and spanish. An audio guide will lead the user through the mysteries and it will help them to contemplate the Gospel while listening to the testimonies of those affected by the pandemic. Background music and special content are also available to aid them in their spiritual concentration.