14 LUMEN | COVID-19 PANDEMIC - TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE WORK , STUDY , PLAY AND LIVE
Keeping the
Catholic Spirit Alive
By Edward Thomas Patani in SJI during COVID-19
Over the past few weeks , Singapore has seen a surge in infections among people from all walks of life - from foreign workers to the elderly . The rise in the number of unlinked cases has forced the government to take more precautious Circuit Breaker measures , which included school closure . Schools moved towards Full Home-Based Learning . In the midst of all this , Co-Curricular Activities ( CCA ) had to be suspended . Catholic CCAs , such as the various Legion of Mary praesidiums had to likewise suspend their meetings .
During the inaugural address to the school community , our Principal , Father Adrian Danker indicated that the suspension of school activities would be a test of our resilience as a school community - “ Through this testing , we will either grow stronger or weaker as a community . Stronger because we are indeed a community that cares . Or weaker because we are really not a community , after all , only individuals and individualistic .’
Despite the difficulties we faced , we had to remain united as one community . There was apprehension among a few Catholic society leaders that there would be students who would drift further away from God and prayer with the absence of our daily morning prayer sessions and weekly meetings . They therefore took the initiative to keep the Catholic community together by moving the weekly Legion of Mary meetings online . During these sessions , members would get together to participate in a video call to say the rosary , pray , report our spiritual development during the week and also share the Word of God with one another .
Adriel Lee , a Year 3 student shares : “ The Legion meetings have managed to connect our community in this time of isolation and given me the opportunity to share how I am doing with my friends .” Similarly , Christopher Singh , a Year 4 student , reflected “ The community at the Legion meetings has given me hope to thrive , allowing me to cope with the demands of these uncertain times ”.
Many other initiatives such as daily reflection questions in WhatsApp group chats were well received . Daily morning prayers were also organised online through a YouTube livestream for the Catholic community . Lynuz Rham from Year 3 , shares , “ Although the livestream morning prayers are not the same as our usual morning prayers in school , it motivates me to live more positively as we go through these relatively gloomy times .”
Catholic students in SJI have managed to rise to the challenge posed by the nationwide Circuit Breaker measures . They kept the Catholic faith in SJI alive . In the words of Father Danker , the community has been tried and tested and has shown that no matter what the circumstances are , we will be able to stay together as one community . It is only by staying together that we will tide over this crisis .