“The new #dearcoronavirus #6 is perhaps to most moving to date. It may well make your spine tingle as you watch it,” declares Victor Hulbert, Communication director for the Trans-European Division, and one of the coordinators of the series #dearcoronavirus.

In this new videoclip we hear from two people who have both lost a loved one to this deadly virus – and give a silent tribute to support all those who have suffered loss.

Why the silence?

“Often we have no words that can adequately comfort the grieving,” says Hulbert. “It is just our presence.” This is a virtual hug! It is simply saying, “We are here! We are with you!” As the apostle Paul puts it, it allows us to “mourn with those that mourn” [Romans 12:15].

“Unfortunately, this coronavirus has taken away the opportunity to physically be in silent presence beside those who suffer the loss of their beloved,” states a regretful Corrado Cozzi, communication director for the Inter-European Division and another coordinator of the series.

“Sadly, so many are prevented from saying that simple goodbye which, although unheard, frees the soul from the burden of separation,” he states. “This clip simply recognizes this lack and, using simple images, is a tribute to all who suffer loss. 

“There really is no appropriate time to say goodbye to a loved one, but the time we are living in now seems rather fit for the ‘inappropriate category’,” writes Carmen Lăiu, a writer for ST Network and Semnele timpului. “At any time, irreplaceable losses pierce our heart, and the process of inner reconstruction excels only in slowness and difficulty. “The new coronavirus is ‘a plague,’ one that steals even the consolation of gestures marking the parting.” [Read the full article on the st.network online magazine.] 

This article was originally published on the Trans-European Division’s news site