By Christopher Khoo

Singapore, Oct 28, 2021: When will all this end? I remember asking myself this several times last year as the Covid-19 pandemic dragged on week after week, month after month. And then, when it looked as if the clouds were lifting and infection rates dropping, another surge would send us in Singapore on another round of restrictive measures.

It was a difficult time for many Catholics here in 2020 when physical Masses were halted to prevent the spread of the virus, and we had to make do with watching the Eucharist online and making spiritual communions. During this period of semi-lockdown which lasted a few months, and which the government called the “Circuit Breaker,” Singapore was like a ghost town with its streets eerily quiet and its bustling shops and restaurants empty. Churches were closed and church groups had to figure out how to conduct their prayer meetings online.

The only in-person communal prayers that I could pray then was with my 80-year-old mother as we said the Rosary each evening for the pandemic to end. It certainly helped us to bond much better as we prayed for the world, our family and our relatives and friends.

Over the past two years, when all we heard and read in the media was how bad the cases of Covid-19 had become worldwide and how it was resurging in Singapore, the things that kept me sane were religion, family support and online prayer groups.

My parish, the Church of the Holy Trinity, for example, held nightly Rosary sessions in May and October over Zoom for the past two years, attended by close to a hundred people each time. Charismatic groups from various parishes shared their Zoom links with whomever wanted to join them. WhatsApp chats groups buzzed with prayer requests. International Catholic groups held training sessions, prayer courses and healing Masses online, attended by people around the world.

It was a great relief then when parishes were allowed to hold in-person Masses after the “Circuit Breaker” period, subject to safe management measures and restrictions on numbers. Although it was difficult for us to gather in groups to chat after Mass, just going across the road to the neighborhood kopitiam (coffeeshop) for breakfast after the Eucharist, and seeing familiar faces (albeit at socially distanced tables) restored a sense of community and fellowship.

But not everyone in Singapore apparently had adequate support. We heard and continue to hear reports of family abuse cases rising, people behaving strangely in public, and a rise in mental health issues among the population. Then a few months ago, when things started looking promising with cases dipping, they surged again, and now more than 3,000 cases are reported daily. Restrictions were re-introduced. People started complaining. Morale dipped. On Wednesday, October 27, the numbers soared to an all time high of more than 5,000.

I remember at one point during this pandemic, I told my mum I was worried about the future, about finances, as I had left a fulltime job to do freelance work even before the pandemic started. Her soothing reply: “Take things one day at a time.”

And I am certainly learning to do this. I am grateful to be able to visit my parish chapel daily for private prayers, to attend daily in-person Masses and online prayer sessions for my spiritual nourishment, and to be able to still have freelance work that helps put food on the table.

And I am grateful to God for showing me and many of my church friends that He is still in control no matter how bleak the situation. It may take years for this pandemic to be brought under control, and until then, I am learning to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and believe that the Lord will do just that.

(The writer is a freelance journalist and educator in Singapore.)