in Pakistan
Good afternoon from Pakistan. I certainly am not freezing with the cold. Each day the weather is getting warmer. I am lucky that I have a fan and the electricity cuts are not too severe as of now. My heart goes out to all who are really confined and who have little space for moving around. I am in a compound and have the opportunity to sit out each evening before the sun sets and when it is pleasant. My only companions are the flies and mosquitoes. The Virus has made and is making such huge demands on so many. My heart goes out to the workers here who have been laid off and have no income. Hard days and hard months ahead.
In a short while I will be attending the Stations of the Cross and Eucharist here in the little Chapel at the Joti Catechetical Centre for around six people. Plenty of room for social and physical distancing. Will remember you all in prayer.
Today my thoughts go back many years when I was stationed in Greentown in Lahore. It was a Friday in Lent when I had unwelcome visitors. Tomas King, then a student was with me but luckily was out in one of the villages. A group of rascals made an unwelcome visit and put a gun to my head and then proceeded to put the barrel of the gun down my throat. Not a happy memory but I am alive and well.
Thinking and praying for you all who are housebound. Better days will come.
Stay well
Fr. Patrick Raleigh
Columban Fr. Patrick Raleigh normally lives and works in Ireland. However, he was in Pakistan when the virus hit so is staying there until it is again safe to travel.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.