faith in action

A Prayer during the COVID-19 Pandemic

A prayer in time of COVID-19 crisis


Palm Sunday holy week

Breathe on me, Breath of God
As we are mourning and grieving
The deaths of many people–
Young, old, and vulnerable ones.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
When we are anxious and scared
From a disease caused by a virus,
Unseen to our eyes yet occupying bodies.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
When we are angry and enraged
With a hostile policy that is anti-poor,
Leading the lowly into greater vulnerability.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
As we repent for our insensitivity
And privilege of having more
That led us to blend thoughts and perceptions
In a discourse of resilience and obedience to laws,
Now weaponized against our own people.

Awaken us to our connivance
with anti-poor policies.

Help us to see that
We benefit because we have means,
We are secure and privileged
Even with a semblance of a vacation.

Raise our awareness that
This lockdown in poor communities
Means suffering, hunger, and tears,
Even as we preach sacrifice for the benefit of all.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
As we pray for those who care for the sick and dying
And those who look for cures and scientific explanation.
Release us from ignorance and myths
that may proclaim what is factual and true.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
As we demand a medical approach to a health crisis,
As we clamor for free testing and health services for the ill,
As we assert a rights-based approach to this problem.

Breathe on me, Breath of God—
Spirit, Ruah, She Who Hovers Over,
The MOVEMENT THAT NEVERS EXPIRES,
Movement like the Wind
That cannot be locked down.