On 27 March 2020 at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome Pope Francis conducted an hour of prayer broadcast around the world to pray for God’s help in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. He based his homily on that occasion on the Gospel passage of Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee when the apostles begged him for help. In this meditation we use Pope Francis’ homily to consider how:

• We should trust more in God in all our problems
• Christ is always with us and he truly cares for us even when we may wonder where he is
• We can use the present crisis to examine our priorities and to choose what is of lasting value
• We should draw closer to God through an increased life of prayer
• In our difficulties Christ is sharing his Cross with us
• We should reach out more to others to help them in these special times