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Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.
(Psalm 103: 2-4)

17 March 2020

Dear Brothers,

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads from country to country, we hold one another in prayer.

We pray in particular for our Brothers and Lasallians, and all the citizens of Italy where the virus made its early appearance on the European continent.

The Brothers and personnel at the Mother House are taking the necessary precautions. There is a great spirit of cooperation and mutual support in the community.

The gift of our fraternal life in community is a gift we have to offer the global community. During this crisis may our support for one another and our solidarity with one another be a sign of hope for others.

Let us not forget that as members of a community we experience less disruption in our lives than many others, including members of our families and the teachers and staffs of our schools, universities and centers.

As we hold one another in prayer let us pray for all those suffering from this virus, those families who have lost loved ones and for the many doctors, nurses and first-responders putting their own health at risk.

May Our Lord protect them as they protect us.

Let us take concrete actions to ensure that no one is forgotten or overlooked within our own community, extending into the educational community and then into the District and Delegation. There are many proactive decisions we can take to contain and mitigate the virus; let us do everything in our power to prepare for its impact.

May this global crisis be a time of grace for all peoples; a time when we come together as one human family. Let it bring out the best in each one of us, helping us realize we are all sisters and brothers, sons and daughters of God.

And as the people of Jesus’s time watched and marveled as he “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people,” (Matthew 4:23) may our world soon feel the healing touch of his loving presence.

Fraternally,

Brother Robert Schieler, FSC
Brother Superior