We’re friends and family from around the world, sharing our experiences and thoughts during lockdown, quarantine, and self-isolation. For some of us, it’s DAY 27. Important Note: WE DON’T ALWAYS AGREE – nor do we have to! We post our opinions, and those of our guest bloggers, with no censorship. No copyright infringement intended WRT photos in this post.

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Today we hear from #Barcelona, #Virginia, #Oregon, and #Beirut regarding a few religious holidays…and we even have a virtual Easter egg hunt! #Malaga is happy to sit back and enjoy these posts while contemplating the lessons an #Agnostic can learn from the #Coronavirus.

We may be of different faiths and belief systems, and we may express ourselves differently, but we do have a unified message:

#STAYHOME #STAYSAFE

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“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, YOU…”

#Passover, #Easter, and #Ramadan 2020

D., Barcelona, Spain

The other day, my favorite Pope EVER – Pope Francis – made a statement hinting that #COVID-19 could be a message from Nature telling us that enough is enough. I think the Pope was trying to be secular and politically correct. I think “nature” is code for God.

This coincides with the month during which the world’s main monotheistic faiths are celebrating three holy occasions: Passover, Easter, and Ramadan.

Passover: This year, from April 8-16, my fellow Jews will remember the 10 plagues that God inflicted on the Egyptians to convince the Pharaoh to release the Jews from slavery.  The 10th plague was the death of every Egyptian first-born. Jews were instructed to slaughter a spring lamb and mark the doorsteps of their homes with its blood, so that the angel of death would pass over the homes, saving their first-born from death. Pass-over? First-born? Interesting.

Easter: On the other hand, my Christian sisters and brothers will celebrate Easter twice again this year (the 12^th is Catholic & the 19^th is Orthodox), remembering the betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Twice? This represents the betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection of LOVE – unconditional love – to save us all. Anyone reading anything here?

Ramadan: This holy month falls around April 23 to May 23, give or take, depending on the lunar calendar. For my Muslim brothers and sisters, this is actually the holiest of months. Fasting and observing the month’s rituals make up one of the five pillars of Islam. This is the month during which the Prophet Mohammed received his first revelation, and the month during which Muslims believe he would later ascend to heaven, and then return to Earth. It’s the month when Muslims are supposed to go back to the basics: the month of physical, mental, and spiritual detox and purity; the month they’re instructed to give to and care for each other. It is a month of fasting, prayer, and family, which in recent years, has become the month of gorging, greed, profitability, Iftar parties, Suhours, and socializing.

What’s interesting this year is that the doors of all those lavish and ornamental palaces, temples, churches, and mosques are closed. The spaces we’ve created to house, contain, and celebrate God in our little groups are closed, off-limits, geschlossen…. As if someone is telling us, “Go away. Go home. Be with your loved ones. I don’t want you visiting me. I don’t want you using me as an excuse anymore. Go – rethink and reconsider your priorities, your lives… your love.”

But then again, I’m only assuming things here.

So in light of all of this, the questions that come to mind right now are:

1. Will the Pharaohs of today release us from our bondage and slavery, or will they need another plague to convince them? But also, will we free ourselves?
2. Will there be enough unconditional love to save each other- and in turn, ourselves – or will this world fall apart? At the end of the day, do we want to live in a world of fear, or do we want to live in a world of love?
3. Will we use this quarantine as a detox period, revisiting and reprioritizing our plans, coming back stronger and better than before, or will we get @!#*%^? Will we learn and improve?

Whether you realize that these and other belief systems are part of a continuum of milestones along the same trajectory of human and social development, each a major chapter in the same book entitled, “Humanity,” or whether you believe that it’s nature or God, or that nature is God and you are part of it too, or whether you don’t believe in any of this stuff and you think it’s historical BS, may we all exit #COVID-19 freer than we were before, more loving and loved than we were before, and more informed and improved than we were before this plague. A free, loving, and enlightened world? Imagine.

Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Ramadan, and Happy “Just Another Day” for all.

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Show Love

Norma B. Wallace, Bend, Oregon

Happy Easter! Of course, we all know that bunnies and Easter egg hunts have nothing to do with the meaning of Easter. Many non-Christians participate in Easter egg hunts and Spring activities. My bunnies are staying safe, staying home, and staying masked when they need to interact with others. They want to show love ❤️ and thanks.

There are so many ways that you can celebrate and stay safe. Celebrate with your family together. Zoom is a great way to connect with a group, or use FaceTime or Skype with families. Be creative. I know this is like preaching to the choir as anyone reading this post, I believe, is practicing the rules of social distancing. 

I wish there was a way to get this message to those who “don’t get it” because it affects us. Those Christians who are holding services in groups together are not showing the Christian Love. They could kill us, literally.  They should be held accountable.

I may go to church but my church is online, believing  that is the best way to show Love. I wish all churches would show love that way.

So whether you are celebrating Easter or Spring activities, please #StayHome, #StaySafe, and Be Safe for others.  

There needs to be more Love in the world —
Show Love by Staying Home. 

Easter Sunday Mass

Tina F., Fairfax, Virginia

Let me begin by telling you that I was born, baptized, and confirmed as a Roman Catholic. Yet I grew up in a Muslim country and later moved to the USA and converted to the Episcopal faith. Now I’m just a humble earthling still trying to understand the wonders of the world.

OK, so that clears up my credentials as I begin to share my thoughts about Easter Sunday Mass for Catholics.

Many devote Catholics are rather disappointed that they will be confined to their homes for Easter Sunday rather than celebrating in church with their priests and their community. Easter is one of the most important celebrations in the Catholic faith. It documents the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his ascension into heaven, where he is now seated at the right hand of God. It is the culmination of 40 days of Lent, when Catholics fast or give up something as a sign of sacrifice to God.

Anyway, I’m not trying to give you a lesson in Catholicism, but I bring it up merely to show that Easter Sunday is the largest attended mass of the year after Christmas. People come out of the woodwork, dust off their Sunday best and bright, spring-colored hats, and head for church.

So what will happen this Easter Sunday?

The churches have not closed their doors nor left their parishioners out in the cold. Many are offering virtual Mass services, available via their websites. For lack of better judgement, some churches are still opening their doors for small, private prayers while others are using Signup Genius for virtual confessions.

The Internet may be a good way to continue to offer Mass services. But I wonder if those Easter/Christmas-only churchgoers will actually attend the online Mass.

In the Midwest and the South, some churches have resorted to conducting services in parking lots, similar to drive-in movie theaters. Will the Catholic churches near me offer the drive-in option?

It’s rather simple. People who have been isolated in one household can drive in together and park. All windows must remain closed at all times. The attendees then open the church app and tune into the current session. The priest can choose to be live on a stage or on a screen, depending on the number of cars.

The Catholic Mass is very interactive. Parishioners respond to prayers in unison. So it is important to keep that connection. In this drive-in church, when the priest calls out, “peace be with you,” all the attendees will flash their car headlights in unison. When he asks them to “offer each other the sign of peace,” attendees will turn and wave to the people in the other cars around them. Communion will be tough to share, but I think the church can wrap the wafer (the body of Christ) in an airtight bag that has already been blessed. Then at the end of Mass, the priest will stand at the edge of the parking lot. He will be wearing his face mask and gloves, of course, so that as cars drive up, he can bless each car and carefully place a hermetically sealed communion wafer in the trunk before the parishioners drive away.

Well, no matter which way you choose to stay in touch with your faith, I wish you a very Happy Easter! Namaste.

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Easter Charity

RJD, Beirut, Lebanon

Spring. Rebirth. Easter. 

Usually I decorate my house with Easter bunnies, baskets, flowers, and colored eggs. 

Usually, I love holidays like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. Since November of last year, I have not celebrated any of my favorite holidays. 

Today, I feel more the spiritual aspect of Easter and its meaning to those who celebrate this Holy event. 

Instead of my decorations, I am raising and donating food to a refugee nursery school that supports 180 families by feeding the children 2 times a day. That to me is worth more than any Easter egg hunt or chocolate! 

In the past few months, the Lebanese population has suffered a massive economic shock that has led to more poverty than ever. The disparity in wealth – or the utter lack of wealth – was huge, and now is magnified by the advent of Corona, its lockdown, coupled with a sinking economy the likes of which are so few. 

Despite that, many Lebanese have shown a sense of community and responsibility where previous governments have failed. Charity was always present in our society; it is a religious duty in many parts of Lebanon. 

With this sense of charity, Lebanese citizens have been able to provide many needy families with food boxes of basic staples. I am not talking about the media campaigns that were launched nor am I talking about the so-called NGOs that are infested with political undertones. I am talking about average citizens who have civic sense, morality, and decency. 

Its still not enough. It will never be enough but what is enough is knowing that this Easter, I am doing something selfless and more spiritually meaningful. 

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