March marks one year since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. At America, we mourn the loss of all who have died and the millions of lives devastated by this global health crisis that has especially affected the most impoverished in our world. We would like to honor the more than 2.6 million people who have died worldwide of complications related to Covid-19.

America grieves with all people who have suffered the dreadful loss of life and livelihood at this time. You are warmly invited to join us.

Order of Prayer Service

WELCOME AND OPENING PRAYER

Presider: Matt Malone, S.J., president and editor in chief of America Media

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Almighty and eternal God,
our refuge in every danger,
to whom we turn in our distress;
in faith, we pray,
look with compassion on the afflicted,
grant eternal rest to the dead,
comfort to mourners,
healing to the sick,
peace to the dying,
strength to healthcare workers,
wisdom to our leaders
and the courage to reach out to all in love,
so that together we may give glory to your holy name.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

PSALM 130

Cantors: Molly Cahill; Joseph A. O’Hare Postgraduate Media Fellow; and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., associate editor.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord

From out of the depths, I cry to you, Lord;
O hear the sound of my voice.
Lord, open your ears and listen to me;
I plead for your kindness, O God.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord

If you, O Lord, should number our sins,
then Lord, who would survive
But you are forgiveness for our sins;
for this we adore you, O God.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord

I trust in you, Lord, my soul looks to you
as watchmen wait for the dawn.
And more than the watchmen wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord

For with you is found forgiveness of sin;
you show your mercy to all.
And you will deliver your chosen ones;
deliver your people, O God.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Cantor: Molly Cahill

Praise and honor to you, O Lord Jesus Christ!

GOSPEL READING (John 17:24-26)

A reading from the Gospel according to John.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

A video tribute to all who have died of Covid-19

For all members of our families who have died, who gifted us with their gentle care, wisdom and support, we pray.

For all essential workers who have died, who worked tirelessly and compassionately, to ensure that their communities had what they needed to survive, we pray.

For all teachers, educators and school staff who have died, whose devotion to their students and school communities shaped the next generation of those who will steward life on this earth, we pray.

For all consecrated women and men who have died, who so desired God and devoted themselves to lives of heartfelt worship and generous service, we pray.

For all bishops, deacons and priests who have died, who lived in loving service of God, preached God’s word and accompanied their communities, we pray.

For all friends who have died, who through the friendship we shared with them showed us the face of God, we pray.

For all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who have died; for all experiencing homelessness who have died; and for all who were ignored, forgotten and cast out by their communities—and even their loved ones—who have died, we pray.

For all those in the L.G.B.T.Q. communities, who have died, that they may be welcomed into life eternal, by God, who loved them into being, just as they were, and just as they now are, we pray.

For all women and men who were incarcerated and have died, whose dignity was never forgotten by God; and for all those who ministered to them and have died, we pray.

For all those who died of Covid-19 whose names are inscribed in our book of remembrance here at America Media, many of whom may have died in great fear and had dreams and hopes of more time with us, we pray.

For all who were unnamed and unclaimed who have died, who do not have others to remember them, and for all those who are sick now and do not have loved ones at their side to accompany them, we pray.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Let us now pause for a moment of silence in remembrance of all who have died of Covid-19.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.

May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

A POEM FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED OF COVID-19

“We remember them” by Erika Rasmussen, Joseph A. O’ Hare Postgraduate Media Fellow

I have been seeing lately
a question on the side
of garbage boxes,
What is made bright by the loss of your light?

With every light lost we howl
How Long, O Lord?
What is made bright by the loss of these lights?
What here in this hell is made bright?

We live a story unexplainable on the earth
and it is the truest thing we know.
The human life.
Precious on the earth
as the moonbeam in night.

We never got to break waffles with you
but your eyes tell me that you lived on this earth
and did it full, wildly, full
of questions, of ache and want and delight,
a language I can and can’t understand,
and how your fingers made song on the piano
the same when Samuel tells God
I am listening

We never picked up the phone
to hear your hello
but I’m told your love was relentless,
You were a mother, sister, friend
to the world, you taught children
how to be themselves by giving
all of you, without having spoken
We are loved through you
We hear the cadence of your adoration
and remember you,
A light through which we know light

And you whose name we won’t hear,
nor your grace or your story
You were a heart beating among
2,631,949 others, all to be called yourselves
Beloved on the earth.

Our family, queer and in love
Our family, without a place
to live,
Our family, assigned a number
and uniformed between cinder blocks,
Our family, Black and brown, Asian, Indigenous
and dying,

Our family of taste buds and irrational arguments and what-ifs,
socks with holes in them and trauma and quiet epiphany,
oil smudge on the shirtsleeve,
dirt under pinky nail,
one single encounter with a ladybug
on the kneecap,

For all of it, thank you

For the first breaths
and the final breaths and the full lungs
and the goodbyes on phone calls
and the respirators
and the eyes that peek above masks
and the hospital that can’t take more
the strangers who aren’t strangers
the ache that sediments on our shoulders,
cities turned to ghost towns
prayers stuck in our throats,
hope that just can’t die.

In the heart of God each one.
Every hair on every head.
Every star up in that sky.

Nothing is made bright by the loss of your light
but nothing, no light, no one,
is ever really lost.

SONG OF FAREWELL

Performed by members of The Ignatian Schola, Choir of the Church of St. Francis Xavier and America Media Staff

May the choirs of angels, come to greet you,
may they speed you to paradise.
May the Lord enfold you, in his mercy
may you find eternal life.

The Lord is my light and my help;
It is he who protects me from harm.
The Lord is the strength of my days;
Before whom should I tremble with fear?

May the choirs of angels, come to greet you,
may they speed you to paradise.
May the Lord enfold you, in his mercy
may you find eternal life.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord;
that he grant me my heartfelt desire.
To dwell in the courts of our God
ev’ryday of my life in His presence.

May the choirs of angels, come to greet you,
may they speed you to paradise.
May the Lord enfold you, in his mercy
may you find eternal life.

CLOSING PRAYER

May the Father of mercies and God of all consolation,
pursue you with untiring love,
comfort you in your loss and sorrow,
gently wipe every tear from your eyes,
and lift you from the depths of grief.
May the love and peace of the Lord, Jesus Christ
sustain you in hope until, at last
you are reunited with those you love.
May almighty God bless and console you,
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

MUSIC CREDITS

Out of the Depths by Scott Soper © 1989, OCP. All rights reserved. Used with permission
Lenten Gospel Acclamation © 1998, Ken Canedo and Bob Hurd. Published by OCP. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Song of Farewell © 1990, Ernest Sands. Published by OCP. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
O Lord, Hear My Prayer by Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994, © 1982, Les Presses de Taizé, GIA Publications, Inc., agent. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

If you would still like us to inscribe in our book of remembrance the names of those you loved who died of complications related to Covid-19, please complete the form below.

Read more from America:

• What Coronavirus Taught Us. We asked 14 experts to reflect on the biggest lessons from the past year in the hope that they might help us find a better way forward.
• A Coronavirus Prayer. Pray in English, en Español, in Italiano, en Français, in Chinese, in Korean
• After Covid, Mass will never be the same. Maybe that’s a good thing.