100,000 Covid Deaths

We struggle to appreciate the awful pain and trauma of such a number. Those of us who have the good fortune not to have a loved one within that number can only stand beside and empathize with those who mourn and weep. Your pain must be unbearable.

This pain has spread its searing tentacles into the heart of the nation and will be with us for years to come. It is the pain felt by our parents and grandparents who survived the Spanish Flu and the two World Wars. It is the trauma of the generation who will live through its consequences.

Let us hold the victims, those living and dead, close to us in our prayer and in our love. May they know that we feel for them and support them, pleading that they may know the love of God in their hearts, pleading that they will come to understand that love is greater than death.

We pray too for the exhausted carers in our hospitals and care homes and for all those who do their utmost to keep us all safe and well.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a prayer for this dreadful occasion. We share it with you here, alongside the prayer of Pope Francis for all those who suffer in this pandemic.

  We remember before God those who have died

  and we pray that God's love will surround all who mourn 

  them, now and always.

  Gracious God,
  as we remember before you the thousands who have died,
  surround us and all who mourn with your strong compassion.
  Be gentle with us in our grief,
  protect us from despair,
  and give us grace to persevere
  and face the future with hope
  in Jesus Christ our risen Lord.

                                                                              Amen.

                                                                              Prayer of Pope Francis

   O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign
   of salvation and hope.
   We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.
   At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,
   with steadfast faith.
   You know what we need.
   We are certain that you will provide, so that,
   as you did at Cana of Galilee,
   joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
   Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
   to conform ourselves to the Father’s will
   and to do what Jesus tells us:
   He who took our sufferings upon Himself,
   and bore our sorrows to bring us,
   through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection.
   Amen.