Hello SMS Families,
I am writing to keep you informed of the latest news from the NJ Department of Health and Diocese of Trenton. As of now, we are “business as usual”. We are preparing as I mentioned in the letter sent home yesterday and will keep you abreast of any information as it’s received by my office. We are currently getting ready to enable our students to do work from home that will ensure we have any days that we may be closed for this virus counted. The school building will be cleaned by our cleaning service this Sunday and disinfected fully. Please remember to keep sick students home as you would normally. Reinforce good hygiene habits at home to also be followed at school.
In the meantime, I’ve included an article from Steve Bollman below. We will be praying a decade of the rosary each day beginning Thursday for a cure for this virus and an end to its spread.
God bless you all,
Craig Palmer
Dear Craig,
There is obviously - and appropriately - a great deal of concern about the spread of the coronavirus. I share that concern. By now you know that I am very big on both faith and science. I applaud all the steps that are being taken by medical science to halt the spread of the coronavirus. I am incredibly disappointed by an almost nonexistent call to prayer.
We should all heed the medical advice and take appropriate simple actions to lessen the risk of contracting or passing on the coronavirus. I personally find that the best force for information, which is neither minimized nor sensationalized, is the Wall Street Journal. They have an entire section dedicated to the coronavirus that is updated regularly as new information is available.
At the same time that we take practical action, we need to take spiritual action. Interestingly enough, the original spread of the coronavirus relates to two major feast days of Our Lady. The first reported case was to a person named Chen on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a vendor in the Hua'nan market fell sick. Shortly thereafter, the coronavirus began a rapid spread into the population of the Wuhan region in China.
In "days of old" when "pestilence" broke out, there would be a call for prayer and fasting to halt the pestilence and for recovery of those afflicted. I think we need to turn to Our Lady. The Rosary has been an incredibly important weapon in times of need for Christianity. This Lent, I ask you to say the Rosary every day for the halt of the coronavirus and the full and speedy recovery of all those afflicted. I also think it appropriate during Lent to add a sacrifice or fast to your prayers.
Please pass this email to your friends and family.
Yours in Christ,
Steve Bollman
Founder and President, Paradisus Dei