The Heartbeats: "When I Found You"

It's time for some more doo wop. Here is a presentation of  "When I Found You" by The Heartbeats:

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for Your presence in each person we encounter each day.

Maureen Pratt on Keeping One's Faith and Health in Balance

"The COVID-19 ('coronavirus disease 2019') situation began to unfold just as I was diagnosed with a significant flare of one of my autoimmune conditions and had to go on a very high dose course of prednisone, a steroid that, among other things, suppresses the immune system and makes it much easier to catch serious, possibly life-threatening illnesses, including influenza.

"Of course, I prayed about my health and relied on God for strength to get through the very difficult few weeks. But I also took practical precautions to protect myself from infection, including obeying my doctor's prescription of restriction - staying home throughout the course and until my immune system had rebuilt itself.

"In other words, I relied on God, but I did my utmost to be an excellent steward of the life God has given me; health and faith, working in tandem."

In a recent commentary, writer Maureen Pratt reflected on how our faith lives and our efforts to meet the challenge of COVID-19 as it related to our own lives and to others are related.

To access Ms. Pratt's complete essay, please visit:

Boston Pilot: Echoes: Maureen Pratt: Keeping the balance: Health and faith (18 MAR 20)

Reflection Starter from Ralph Waldo Emerson

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Seattle Firefighters Create Flatten the Curve Challenge Video

"With COVID-19 on our minds, Seattle firefighters have created a tiktok video for a #flattenthecurvechallege."

To access this video, please visit:

Seattle Fire Dept. on Twitter: "With COVID-19 on our minds, Seattle firefighters have created a tiktok video for a #flattenthecurvechallege"

Background information:
 
Seattle Fire Department

Coronavirus-related New England Municipal Government News Headlines

Recent news stories related to municipal government in New England (and issues being faced on the local level) include these articles:

CT: New Milford changes revaluation because of coronavirus (The News-Times)

ME: Rumford library, rec center closed but still active (Sun Journal)

MA: Outdoor municipal workers being called back to jobs in Attleboro (The Sun-Chronicle)

NH: Seacoast cities deploy portable showers for homeless during business closures (Foster's Daily Democrat)

RI: Police officers adapt to coronavirus with protective equipment (The Times, Pawtucket)

VT: Educating amid coronavirus: Classrooms to online curriculum (Shelburne  News)

National: 'Somebody has to be there to answer that 9-1-1 call': emergency dispatchers continue serving the public during COVID-19 pandemic (Santa Barbara News-Press))

Background information:

Town of New Milford, CT

Town of Rumford, ME

City of Attleboro, MA

City of Portsmouth, NH

City of Rochester, NH

Champlain Valley School District, VT (Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, Saint George, and Williston)

Town of Charlotte, VT

Town of Hinesburg, VT

Town of Saint George, VT

Town of Shelburne, VT

Town of Williston, VT
City of Santa Barbara, CA

Holy Father's Prayer Intention for April

The Holy Father's prayer intention for April is:

Freedom from Addiction: "That those suffering from addiction may be helped and accompanied."

Franciscan Lenten Meditation: Maximilian Mary Kolbe: Witness in the Face of Cruelty

"In The Seven Storey Mountain, the Trappist monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton explains how, when asked by his friend Robert Lax what he, Merton, wanted to be, he replied that he wanted to be a good Catholic. Lax, a poet and mystic, told him, 'What you should say is that you want to be a saint.' Merton deferred, conscious of his own failings and inadequacies. But Lax persisted: 'All that is necessary to be a saint is to want to be one.' By desiring sainthood, Lax said, we consent to become what God has created us to be. God, in turn, will make us saints."

Franciscan Media is offering a special Lenten series of meditations, "Lent with the Saints." The mediation by Father Greg Friedman, OFM, for the Fifth Wednesday of Lent, entitled "Maximilian Mary Kolbe: Witness in the Face of Cruelty", is as follows:

Franciscan Media: Lent with the Saints: Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Atwater Donnelly: "Bold Riley"

One of the treasures of New England is the great variety of music in our region. Some of this music (of whatever genre) is provided musicians from the region; other music is provided by artists visiting the region from other areas.

One such example is the Rhode Island-based Atwater~Donnelly from Warren. 

Background information: 

Atwater~Donnelly 

In this video, the Atwater~Donnelly Trio is presenting "Bold Riley":

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of interruptions that bring us unanticipated blessings (whether we are aware of them or not).

Fr. Roger Landry on Virtues Needed for a Time of Crisis

"During the 1576 plague that menaced Milan and eventually took 25,000 lives, the civil government fled the city out of fear. The Archbishop of Milan, Saint Charles Borromeo, took over, assured the people he would not abandon them and, together with priests from the parishes and religious orders, began to care for their material and spiritual needs.

"He organized hospitals, cared for orphans, and brought the sacraments to those who were quarantined in their homes. He got priests to offer Masses in public squares and the middle of streets so that people could participate from their houses. He sold his personal goods and much of the diocesan treasury to feed the hungry and had the tapestries of his residence converted into blankets to warm the poor.

"As a Good Shepherd, he was willing to risk his life to care for both the souls and the bodies of those entrusted to him and was able to persuade so many of his brother priests to join him. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Father Roger J. Landry (a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, MA, who works for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations) reflected on how the "example of courage tied to charity is a mirror for the Church and her leaders in every age, most especially at times of crisis."

To access Fr. Landry's complete essay, please visit:

Boston Pilot: Echoes: Father Roger J. Landry: Virtues needed for a time of crisis (25 MAR 20)

Reflection Starter from William Arthur Ward

"Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them." - William Arthur Ward