T he scene unfolded in many of the cities where the Heralds are active, from Asunción, Paraguay, to Lisbon, Portugal; from the Western Brazilian city of Campo Grande to Maputo in Africa, covering São Paulo, Ponta Grossa, Fortaleza, San José (Costa Rica) and San Salvador (El Salvador). By helicopter, boat and small plane, Herald priests and deacons reverently transported the Blessed Sacrament or carried a statue of Our Lady with filial love, praying, singing, or reciting the Holy Rosary. Their goal was always the same: to demonstrate faith and confidence in Divine Providence and to beseech Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His most Holy Mother, to protect and bless the faithful during the difficult days they are living.
We are undergoing times of great change. Faced with the panorama unfolding before our eyes, human strength and planning are of little value. But why are we troubled? Did not Jesus in the Gospel tell us that even the hairs of our head are numbered (cf. Lk 12:7), and that not one of them falls without divine permission (cf. Lk 21:18)? As we approach the fulfilment of the promises of Fatima and feel our human powerlessness before disease, the forces of nature and even the vicissitudes of the global economy, the time has come for us to raise our eyes to Heaven. More than ever, we need to ask Jesus and Mary to bestow upon us their blessing and to protect us in every situation, however complex.
It was in this spirit that the Heralds of the Gospel made their aerial and maritime processional voyages. And it is likewise from this perspective that that we seek to carry out each of our day-to-day duties during this period of pandemic and confinement. ◊
