Standing in the window of the library of the Apostolic Palace overlooking an empty St Peter's Square, Pope Francis blesses the city of Rome on March 15, still under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters). 
While many are stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis says that there are many small acts of love and kindness one can do for others without leaving the house.
“We must rediscover the concreteness of little things, small gestures of attention we can offer those close to us, our family, our friends. We must understand that in small things lies our treasure,” Pope Francis said in an interview in an Italian newspaper published today (March 18).
“For example, a hot meal, a caress, a hug, a phone call… They are familiar gestures of attention to the details of everyday life that make life meaningful and that create communion and communication among us,” the Pope said.
Pope Francis said that the quarantine many people are living through right now provides a particular opportunity to grow in personal relationships at home, but this requires disconnecting from technology to spend quality time together.
“In their homes, families often eat together in great silence, but not as a result of listening to each other, rather because the parents watch television while they eat, and children are on their mobile phones,” he said. “Here there is no communication, whereas listening to each other is important because that’s how we can understand the needs, efforts, desires of the other.”
In the interview with Italian journalist Paolo Rodari published in La Repubblica, Pope Francis explained what was on his mind when he made a short walking pilgrimage through the empty streets of Rome on Sunday to pray in front of a Marian icon in the Basilica of St Mary Major and a crucifix in another church that had been used in prayer processions during the plagues in Rome’s history.
“I asked the Lord to stop the epidemic: ‘Lord, stop it with your hand.’ That’s what I prayed for,” he said.
More than 200,000 people have been infected by COVID-19, a respiratory illness that has been linked to the deaths of more than 8,000 people worldwide as of March 18, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Italy has been the hardest hit country outside of China with over 31,500 documented coronavirus cases, and more than 2,500 deaths, mostly in the north of the country.
Francis urged people to remember that one’s personal choices and actions have consequences for the lives of others.
The Pope cited an article written by Italian journalist, Fabio Fazio, who said that people’s failure to pay their taxes in Italy has hurt the country’s ability to provide for all those who are sick.
“He [Fazio] is right, for example, when he says: ‘It has become evident that those who do not pay taxes do not only commit a felony but also a crime: if there are not enough hospital beds and artificial respirators, it is also their fault’. I was very impressed by this,’” Pope Francis said quoting the journalist.
Pope Francis also said that people can find strength in their families and in the love of the people around them, even if they do not yet have the gift of faith.
“They are all God’s children and are looked upon by Him. Even those who have not yet met God, those who do not have the gift of faith, can find their way through this, in the good things they believe in: they can find strength in love for their children, for their family, for their brothers and sisters,” he said.
The Pope added: “During these difficult days we can find small, concrete gestures expressing closeness and concreteness towards the people closest to us, a caress for our grandparents, a kiss for our children, for the people we love. These are important, decisive gestures. If we live these days like this, they won’t be wasted.”
CNA/Courtney Mares
