We, the members of the James Alberione community, Albano, made the effort to personally reflect on and share our ideas concerning what we lived during the months of lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
We asked ourselves three questions:
Q: What happened to us during that period?
A: We felt almost overwhelmed by the rapid and mysterious spread of this very contagious virus. For all of us it was something completely unexpected and unsettling. It was and continues to be a test that we must live with faith, in a spirit of human solidarity.
Q: How did we feel about it?
A: Most of us lived and continue live in a state of great fear about the possibility of contagion since the virus is still circulating, and at the same time we were bewildered about how it was spread. The pandemic made us more aware of our limitations and vulnerability. It also made us more profoundly aware that we are one body and, as such, that we need one another. The virus has triggered in all of us attitudes of greater attention, respect and mutual support toward each other. It has also helped us participate in the pain of all humanity, so harshly tried in these months.
Q: What is the lesson we will never and should never forget?
A: We will never forget the ordinary people (doctors, nurses, priests, etc.) who gave their lives to care for and stay close to the sick, nor the many people who died without the comforting presence of their loved ones and a religious burial. We also realized in a more concrete way that life holds many surprises, that we live on a sick planet and that we must do our best to respect and heal it. Furthermore, we reaffirmed that this pandemic and other serious global crises must be faced and resolved together.
We are all very grateful to God that no one in our community or in the FSP Italian Province has been contaminated so far.
