March 31, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is urging Christians, especially in Italy, not to despair, but to turn their gaze to Jesus and have faith that “we are in God’s hands.”
“In these moments of great trial, we, believers in Christ, turn our gaze to our Lord and to His glorious cross, confirming our adherence and belonging to Him – the one Savior and Lord of our lives. We renew our profession of faith, knowing that in Him ‘we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28)” Cardinal Müller said in a short video, released March 30 by his Italian publisher Edizioni Cantagalli (See translation of full comments below).
“Our life has its beginning and its completion in Him, the final end of our existence. In fact, for us believers, our life is stretched towards eternity and it is for this reason that in the face of these trials and tribulations we do not despair, certain that we are in God’s hands,” he added.
Cardinal Müller encouraged Catholics to transform the current situation of limitations, where people are largely confined to their homes, “into a moment of particular grace.”
Müller suggested renewing “our intimacy with the Lord by listening to His Word, by personal prayer, and by meditating on the saving mysteries contained in the Stations of the Cross or in the recitation of the Rosary. Each of us can take on a commitment to intercede for those in need.”
In a personal reflection, Müller pointed out that at the end of Mass, “I turn my gaze to the Lord through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying for all of us, asking for the grace of consolation for those afflicted by pain, for strength of spirit for all who help them, and for blessings for those who in various ways guarantee a constant service for the common good.”
The cardinal then went on to call “on the Lord to extend His hand of blessing over us and remove any danger that threatens us.”
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Cardinal Müller’s ‘prayer for Italy’
Dear Italian friends,
The pandemic emergency that has been plaguing various nations around the world for some time now, confronts us with human drama and suffering that is difficult to express. The fragility of our existence is more than ever felt with great evidence and incisiveness. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the virus and tens of thousands of dead, there are also those in mourning, as well as countless people who help or assist others, despite extreme effort and exposing their lives to danger, tirelessly and heroically, in different ways and for various reasons.
Let us think of this great people who, as an idea, represent the whole of sorrowful and pitiful humanity, but united by the effort to overcome and control the danger. We carry in our hearts gratitude for every act of sensitivity and goodness with which we bear witness to the greatness of the human heart.
In these moments of great trial, we, believers in Christ, turn our gaze to our Lord and to His glorious cross, confirming our adherence and belonging to Him – the one Savior and Lord of our lives. We renew our profession of faith, knowing that in Him “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Our life has its beginning and its completion in Him, the final end of our existence. In fact, for us believers, our life is stretched towards eternity and it is for this reason that in the face of these trials and tribulations we do not despair, certain that we are in God’s hands. His hands, in fact, are one of the great symbols spread among many pages of the Bible with which is expressed not only faith in the act of creation, but also a constant defense of His creatures, from whom comes a strong message of comfort and hope.
In this period of undoubted suffering, many of us are forced to stay at home. This limitation, however, can be transformed into a moment of particular grace if we find time to renew our intimacy with the Lord by listening to His Word, by personal prayer, and by meditating on the saving mysteries contained in the Stations of the Cross or in the recitation of the Rosary. Each of us can take on a commitment to intercede for those in need.
Every day, at the end of the celebration of the Eucharist, I turn my gaze to the Lord through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying for all of us, asking for the grace of consolation for those afflicted by pain, for strength of spirit for all who help them, and for blessings for those who in various ways guarantee a constant service for the common good. Also today, united with the Pope and countless shepherds in the world, and moved by great trust in God’s mercy, we call on the Lord to extend His hand of blessing over us and remove any danger that threatens us.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Cor 1:3-5)
Lord Jesus Christ, you have taken upon yourself our weaknesses and sufferings, and delivered us from the oppression of evil through your passion, death and resurrection. We entrust to you mankind, struck by this evil, and we pray: Deliver us and protect us from all dangers. We ask you in a special way for the afflicted: Comfort their hearts, give them hope, revive their faith. We beseech you, hide us in the shadow of your hand so that we may experience the power of your love which triumphs in every situation. Make us witnesses of your infinite mercy that redeems and saves us. To you be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen!
Mary, Mother of Jesus, intercede for us!
May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Translation of Cardinal Müller’s “prayer for Italy” by Martin Bürger