By DANIEL KIDDER-McQUOWN

Recently, I was offering a prayer of committal:
May the deceased join with the saints in Heaven.

It got me to wonder,
Who are the pandemic saints?

You know, the people who sacrificed the most,
Who led us out of the wilderness,
Who restored our soul in our hour of need?

The people who we now turn to in prayer,
Our role models and intercessors,
Those who truly understand our petitions.

It has been two years and four surges,
Countless death and long-term complications,
Lives upended
Forever.

Surely, goodness and mercy followed
The COVID souls into eternal rest,
And they must now see the answer
To my questions.

The deceased have become our reredos,
Watching and praying,
Comforting and guiding.

One night in the hospital chapel,
I overheard Sister Mary Catherine,
Reflecting on the pandemic of 1832.
Today’s response has been similar, she said.
People came out of the woodwork to help.
Regular people became
Extraordinary.

And the pandemic saints are all around us.

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Care to learn more?

THIS POEM is part of a column by the Rev. Daniel Kidder-McQuown, who serves as night chaplain at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The start of this column is a reflection Daniel wrote, headlined: Summoning spiritual resiliency after two years of coping with COVID

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