A man walks past a barrier blocking access to minor roads next to a sign recommending residents stay at home in Yangon on Sept. 30 as new restrictions have been introduced to halt a surge in Covid-19 cases. (Photo: AFP)
Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay has urged Catholics to say the rosary and prayers in October to contain the Covid-19 outbreak which has affected millions globally.
He urged all Catholics to recite the rosary every night as a family or individually starting from Oct. 1 along with prayers to Our Lady of Mary and St. Joseph.
“It is time to pray for one another, to show compassion to God's love and mercy. It’s time to share what we have with those who face hardships due to Covid-19 and to offer a hand to one another,” Archbishop Tin Win said in a recorded video message on Sept. 30.
He said the pandemic that people from all walks of life have been battling has taught a valuable lesson about the precious value of human life.
“It is time to love one another as Jesus loves us and not to waste time with hatred, ego and criticism of one another. It is time to nurture the spirit of solidarity, sympathy and sharing,” he said.
The 60-year-old prelate said every Catholic needs to have a sharing spirit and help for those who are most in need instead of nurturing jealousy and attacking people when receiving aid from the government, the Church or private donors.
He cited the example of the unity of people from all religions responding to the effects of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
“We could overcome the challenges from the cyclone through the solidarity and unity of all believers,” the archbishop said.
He said we all need to join hands to fight the deadly virus through compassion. “Let us nurture a spirit of helping each other by putting aside hatred and ego.”
The archbishop also urged priests from Mandalay Archdiocese to closely accompany the elderly and the sick through giving communion and confession as moral support to the faithful.
He called on Catholics to do one hour of adoration on a daily basis, read books and one hour's work such as planting trees, gardening, collecting rubbish or cleaning the church compound.
Archbishop Tin Win asked the faithful to strictly obey Covid-19 guidelines from the health ministry in order to stem the spread of the disease as Myanmar grapples with a second Covid-19 wave.
Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon has called on people to move to “compassion as our common religion” when the virus has declared a war against humanity.
“We shall overcome as one people, one nation. It is time to stop all conflicts. Let the brotherhood of humanity assert itself,” he said in a homily on Sept. 27.
On Sept. 30, Myanmar reported 946 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to 13,373, including 310 deaths and 3,755 recoveries.