https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/la-corona-john-donne-shows-us-how-prayer-and-faith-can-fight-the-virus/
In response to the deluge of articles, reports, blogs, vlogs, news items, panel discussions, and press briefings that confront us at every turn regarding COVID-19, we apprehensively follow the prescriptions and advisories intended to combat the pandemic. We wash our hands five times a day, we practice “social distancing” (a new term that has entered the lexicon), we hunker down at home, we go into quarantine, we put our wavering hopes in hydroxychloroquine, and we hoard, hoard, hoard though the shelves are now as bare as they perennially were and are under communism. And we worry, too, that the cure may be worse than the disease as financial markets tumble, businesses close, unemployment skyrockets and the supply chains are indefinitely disrupted.
Aside from the various cautionary practices daily recommended and instructions regularly issued, personal and collective prayer has also come to be recognized as an antipathogen. Pope Francis called on followers to pray for the suffering. A National Day of Prayer has been organized in the U.S. to allay the disaster that has befallen us. “No matter where you may be,” said President Trump, “I encourage you to turn towards prayer in an act of faith.” Some theologians and no doubt laypersons believe that the Lord’s wrath has been visited upon a decadent and corrupt society, a modern version of Sodom and Gomorrah threatened with the viral equivalent of “fire and brimstone,” which prayer, contrition, and repentance may serve to mitigate.
I have nothing against prayer if it leads to introspection, humility, and personal strength to withstand the trials that afflict us and others, but prayer must be accompanied and supplemented by benign, determined, and virtuous action. The only way to find safety in Zoar (Genesis 19: 22-23) is through profound social and cultural change to overcome our moral decay. Our society indiscriminately slaughters its unborn. Such a society cannot find favor in the eyes of the Lord; consequently, the vast and lucrative abortion industry that thrives in the nation needs to be ended. Those seeking abortions should be subject to counseling and to medical intervention only in cases that are critically pressing.