During the weekend of 14th to 15th November a continuous 40 – hour prayer called Quarantore took place in all communities of the Slovak province of the Congregatio Jesu – in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Vienna and Siberia. We asked God for the end of the pandemic Covid -19, for healing of the sick, and for God´s closeness to those dying and renewed strength for the health care professionals in Slovakia and all over the world.
We wanted to enter our prayer with openness and generosity and we really enjoyed the common activity and connection with the whole Province at this time as we understood how important and necessary our prayer was in today´s difficult situation.
Most of us also spent our free time before the Blessed Sacrament as well as the hours when the community prayed together. Thanks to this initiative an atmosphere of prayer and unity was created in our communities. Some of us – after being in quarantine – experienced it with an even deeper eagerness and commitment.( In Germany, Sr. Marica from MEP joined our Sr. Julia, who works at the Slovak Catholic Mission in Munich, during this time of adoration.)
Our Mary Ward inspired this initiative as she too prayed Quarantore in crucial and challenging moments of her life, visiting the churches in Rome where that spiritual practice existed since the time of St. Philip Neri. Mary Ward encouraged her companions during their prayers with these words: “We want to pray, hope in the best and trust in God.”
AMDG
