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JEDDAH: Will the Hajj, which draws millions of Muslims annually to Islam’s birthplace in Saudi Arabia, be suspended this year owing to the global coronavirus pandemic? That question had been uppermost in the minds of millions of Muslims worldwide even before a Saudi official asked them to put on hold any plans to perform the obligatory pilgrimage, scheduled to begin in late July.
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What gives you strength and resilience during this coronavirus crisis? For many, it’s the bond of loving relationships with family, friends, and community. Maintaining your physical health – proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise (when possible) – combined with other daily self-care techniques like the simple pleasures of a walk outdoors and ongoing acts of kindness (g’milut chasadim ) and generosity (tzedakah) are also powerful tools of resilience.
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LOS ANGELES (Religion News Service) – With a grand presentation of melodious hymns, a two-mile parade in downtown Los Angeles and free food for thousands, the celebration of Vaisakhi for Sikhs in Southern California is no small occasion. But this year, the community is faced with the challenge of honoring a festive, holy day during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Sometimes friends ask me to help with some problem in the world, using some “magical powers.” I always tell them that the Dalai Lama has no magical powers. If I did, I would not feel pain in my legs or a sore throat. We are all the same as human beings, and we experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties.
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In these (unkind) days of coronavirus, self-isolation and quarantine, keeping the peace in the head might be the highest priority! Here, Karen Maezen Miller offers 10 simple tips for keeping a a mindful home. How simple? Well, as Karen says, “If you can do the first one, the next nine take care of themselves.”
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The Australian Red Cross is receiving funding from the Australian Government for the next six months to deliver emergency relief and support – for people on temporary visas who cannot access Medicare and Centrelink support.
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The Seven Network will stream The Lord’s Passion at 3pm on Good Friday and Easter Sunday Mass from 10.30am across the country on Channel 7 and on Prime 7 in regional areas, and live-streamed on 7plus.
Both liturgies will be broadcast commercial-free and in their entirety.
It is no coincidence that the words “medication” and “meditation” are only one letter different. They both come from the same Latin root word, medeor, meaning “to heal or to make whole.”
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Victoria Department of Health and Human Services, Australian Government Dept of Health and SBS provide a range of translated information Coronavirus – COVID-19 for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, health professionals and industry. Information includes factsheets, self-isolation guides, Stay at Home Guides and Treasury Factsheets – Jobkeeper Payments and Youtube Video. — 50 languages covered.
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The date for Easter changes every year. In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, within about seven days after the astronomical full moon. As well as major Christian observances, at the time of Easter, there are religious festivals in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Orthodox Christianity, Jainism and the Baha’i faith. Jains observe the birthday of Mahavir. Buddhists observe Therevadan New Year. There is the Passover of the Jewish Faith and the Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi, the foundation of the Khalsa. These are among the religious festivals celebrated at this time.
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All over the world, places of gathering for the faithful for prayer, devotion, offering and morning puja – are silent and the faithful are urged to stay away during this time of coronavirus. Here, we bring a second collection of photographs from several “Photo of the Day” collections, showing different places of worship in many different nations. They are approaches to worship, life and death, during stay at home lockdown.
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Saudi Arabia has imposed a 24-hour curfew over Islam’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, as it fights to contain a Covid-19 outbreak. Saudi Arabia is telling Muslims worldwide to suspend Hajj plans amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
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In a message for the Buddhist feast of Vesak, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue invites Buddhists and Christians to promote a culture of compassion and fraternity.
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In Parashat Tzav, we read, in minute detail, of the priests’ tasks to keep the flame on the altar burning day and night. That fire was central to the spiritual life of the community. Through their burnt offerings the Israelites drew near to God at times of transition or vulnerability. To do so, they depended on the priests to keep the altar clean and the fire burning.
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On 23 March at Amritapuri Ashram, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi) gave one message about Coronavirus: “Pray sincerely and practice due diligence & caution against Coronavirus!” Amma’s message is as follows:
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Here, we bring you up to date with prayer and devotion in Shepparton’s places of worship for the current time of Covid 19 with Stage 3 restrictions. Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh communities are referenced.
Due the Prime Minister’s Press Conference on 3 April 2020, worship that is streamed live is deemed an essential service, and the proper number of ministers, priests, deacons, imams, gurbani’s will be allowed to participate in the live streaming. The Place of Worship, however, remains closed to the Public.
Update: There are a number of new links added for Christian worship in languages other than English.
Fortunately for Muslims, the closure of mosques does not mean they stop daily prayers altogether. In Islam, individual prayers and worship play a greater role than communal ones. Muslims can pray five times a day wherever they are, and often home is a place where most praying takes place.
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Dharamshala: A group of Chinese Buddhists and devout followers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from mainland China sought His Holiness’ spiritual advice on ways to contain the spread of Coronavirus, a recently discovered airborne disease which has gripped national attention as well as globally after it spread rapidly across China and to other parts of the world.
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Words have an impact on human consciousness, something scientists have long studied, and many researchers and health services are committed to. Articulation and eloquence have long defined culture. And ‘having a way with words’ is a way of either praising special capacity – or bemoaning ‘spin’. Words, and how they are used, is a large part of what many bemoan as ‘fake news’. So, we know that words matter. Now that we move into virtual communication for everything from trade to learning, from industry to worship, words will matter more than ever, writes Prof. Azza Karam is Secretary General, Religions for Peace International.
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Easter is approaching, but Christians won’t be able to assemble in any traditional place of worship. In the Catholic tradition, all masses have been suspended by order of the archdiocese. Funerals are one of the few services that the governments are allowing, but they must have no more than 10 people.
Do the measures of social distancing being imposed by governments all over the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic mean the end of conventional religious practice? If mortality were to increase to the situation we see in Italy and Spain, it will not be possible to remember the dead by any but the most cursory means.