PT

write

WE say WIN!

2020

Dear Friends,

Entering this HOLY WEEK, I would like, first of all, to thank you for the opportunity to share with you the text of our VERY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD FRIEND and COMPANION Mr. Barros, who just wisely sensitizes us to the true and persevering path.

"Lessons from coronavirus:

In addition to the continuous news and statistics, always outdated, about the covid-19, I would like to deduce some lessons from this “bitter” master (random order): 1) In a civilization of leisure and comfort, honey quickly became gall. 2) When death was taboo, now it is fully exposed and making us think of human fragility. And thinking about death is not pathological. Montaigne (sec. XVI) said: "Whoever teaches man to die will teach him how to live". Now the lesson enters us from all corners of our being, makes us think that we are mortal (we were quite forgotten!), helps us to appreciate more what at the time of death is really important and to devalue what at the end of the day, is actually straw. 3) In a society where gold was the God, money was earned at the expense of morals, we will now face a serious economic crisis, perhaps more ferocious than the sanitary one. 4) Today's man thought he was the lord of this world and of the other, that he had a solution for everything, that he dominated everything, and now you see that he has feet of clay, that 'the king goes naked'. 5) When we didn't have time for anything, in the mad rush of life, always with the agenda in hand, we are now confined to the square meters of our house and we have time. 6) When we didn't have time for the family, now we are forced to look at each other more and to train ourselves to live at home, to look more and to play with the children (if there are any - at least now they were needed). 7) When danger was far away, we thought that evil only affected others; now it forces us to be more supportive and to open our eyes to the misery of the world, to think that we are all in the same boat, as Pope Francis said. 8) When we despised Mother Earth, in arms with so much pollution, she now takes the opportunity to breathe a little better and the sky already seems clearer and lets you see the stars. 9) When we lived in the midst of so much noise from cars, factories, football fields (many die without football), from loudspeakers at parties, now the silence is heard and with it the birdsong in spring. 10) Now that we have to be closed at home, we know how to appreciate how important freedom of movement is, of being able to walk around watching the spring procession pass, or the sun shining and the sea calling; and we can also better understand the suffering of prisoners ... 11) Often we would greet or kiss family and friends absently, and now we feel the need for a more loving kiss or hug, especially at the time of greatest suffering, as in the death of a family member. 12) We often speak bad things of doctors or nurses and now we see them exhausted, fighting heroically to save us. 13) Finally, but even more importantly, when we there were so many politicians concerned about abortion, euthanasia (the virus takes care of that), homo marriages and adoptions, surrogate bellies, and whatever attacks on life and family, in this 'culture of death', now this facinous virus arrives. However, it is assumed that there are more than 40 million abortions per year worldwide, and in Portugal about 15 thousand (not counting illegal immigrants) and no one mourns these unborn babies... Add the victims, that could be prevented but are not, from wars (in Syria alone, around 400,000), from terrorism, hunger and disease (how many children die of misery every day...). And those killed on the roads (say three million a year), those killed by drugs, alcohol, tobacco... Anyway, let us mourn the dead of the pandemic, but also the victims of human crimes. We could add other lessons to be learned from this insidious monster. But this is enough to think, because today's man sold or at least rented his head. The worst is if we do not learn the lesson and, after the crisis, everything remains the same in this crazy race to the abyss, killing each other and killing Nature.

Let us wash our hands, but let us also wash our souls!" José B. Oliveira

I leave you this magnificent song of MY LOVED EARTH, so that I can rock you, when on your knees, please, pray a HOLY MARY, for the healing of humanity! I count on your prayer! United we open ourselves to a deep and tender embrace of Nossa Senhora! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY_YnNKFkbM&feature=youtu.be

A tigh and virtual HUG to you! Fátima C. Brízio

WE have your dream TRAVEL