“This challenging year calls us back to the truth that what matters is seeking God’s will for our lives, following his commands, fixing our hearts on heaven as we carry out our duty to love here on earth,” wrote Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In the light of faith, however, this encounter with our weakness has become an opportunity to deepen our awareness of our dependence on God. In this pandemic, we remember the promise of mercy and eternity that we have in Jesus Christ, whose love is stronger than death.