For the time being, given our national emergency, we are switching to DAILY COVID-19/China Virus threads instead of weekly threads. Your comments and updates are most welcome. PLEASE continue to post your valuable information, hard source links, and local observations within these Daily Threads. Additionally, we will try to include links to government and official pressers, so those who no longer have cable can remain informed.

We’ll get through this crisis, together. As a group, there is probably no one better prepared than we are.

For our newcomers: The Q Tree community has been diligent in covering the threat of Coronavirus, COVID19, Wuhan FLU. We started accumulating information about this virus in mid-late January, in what became almost weekly threads. We’ve been weeks, if not months, ahead of MSM outlets to vet rumors and other medical papers, etc.

Primary Update Links:

• Links to the USA CoronaVirus Task Force: http://coronavirus.gov/
• Johns Hopkins CSSE Dashboard to update number of “official” cases within China and worldwide: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 
• Another summary of data, updates and sources: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
• Hard Link to the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• Hard Link to the Center for Disease Control: CDC Updates:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

In our past weekly threads, we assembled information on the following:

• Primary update links. The dashboard from Johns Hopkins which counts “official” cases all over the world, the CDC, and WHO, and includes the links for our past threads.
• Hard Data Medical Information- Explanation about testing, reliance on China for drugs, analysis of NE Journal of Medicine results and other published papers.
• Vaccine and theraputics (new/old drugs to alleviate symptoms) news and updates 
• Trump Administration response (the timeline and links to various agencies)
• China Responses, timelines, research, attempt to cover actions, or secrecy in results discovered.
• An aggregate of info/responses from other countries, listed by country.
• Economic impact from around the world. A change in economic activity will indicate a “return to normal”.
• Speculation/debunking on how the virus started
• Media Bias, political response, and debunking section, like the article from AP News, overt bias from Politico, inflammatory headlines, etc.  
• Other medical info to boost immune system, herbal remedies, ways to keep your house clean and NOT spread the virus to others. Excellent information to incorporate into daily lifestyle.
• Hard links for OTHER valuable sources/blogs and a brief sentence or two about what they provide
• Other news items

Our weekly updates. timelines, collection of valuable information, can be found here:

• January 25th, Our first thread:  https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/01/25/20200125-coronavirus/
• January 27th, Our second thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/01/27/20200127-coronavirus-update-thread/
• February 1st-9th, Our third thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/02/01/20200201-coronavirus-update-thread-3/
• February 10th – 18th, Our Fourth Thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/02/10/20200210th-19th-coronavirus-thread/
• February 19-29th: Our Fifth Thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/02/18/20200218th-29th-coronavirus-update-thread/
• March 1-10th, Our Sixth Thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/03/01/2020-march1st-7th-coronavirus-covid19-xivirus-wuflu-6th-update-thread/
• March 9-16th, Our Seventh Thread: https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/03/09/2020-march-9th-16th-coronavirus-covid19-xivirus-wuflu-7th-weekly-update-thread/

Please try to keep your sense of humor during this National Emergency, and remember, patience is a virtue.

Love to all!

5th Sunday of Lent
March 29, 2020
“Death Is Never the End”

Ezekiel 37:12-14
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45

My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord –

A fundamental part of our human nature is that we all want to live. We want desperately to stay alive. We do all that we can to preserve our life. Furthermore, we don’t want to lose our loved ones in death. The loss of a beloved spouse is heart-wrenching. The loss of a child can almost destroy us – because children should live far beyond the life-span of their parents.

Consequently, we resist death at all costs. Because death is the end of all that we have here – at least for us. Consequently, some will even go to extraordinary lengths to keep themselves – or loved ones – alive in a hospital setting. As a result, patients must now have an “Advanced Directive” prepared before any surgery will be undertaken.

Our human bodies are simply not built to live forever. We age and grow older. We are subject to accident, sickness, and disease. Eventually, at some moment, life here will end for every one of us – For there is no escape from physical death.

However, we were created with more than a body. We also have a soul, created by God. And this soul will transcend our physical death and live forever because it is immortal. This knowledge should give all of us hope and a sense of wonder.

Unfortunately, people didn’t always know this, or believe this was possible. For them, death was truly the end. They could, at best, live in the memory of others – or, perhaps, in a monument erected on their behalf.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote for the exiled people in Babylon who had no hope. They knew nothing about a life after death. Yet, God revealed, through Ezekiel, that there would be a resurrection, someday. They would rise from their graves and be enlivened by the Spirit of God. They would have life in a new homeland that exceeded even their wildest dreams of restoration!

One of the reasons that God sent Jesus into the world was to make it clear that we could live forever beyond our life here. God sent His Son to reveal His goodness, His love, and His mercy. Jesus also made it clear that death was not the end.

Indeed, if we lived truly godly lives – if we embraced the Gospel – if we entered into a relationship with Jesus – then, after our life here, we could live forever in the presence of God. This would be in a state of eternal joy, and bliss, and love!

The raising of Lazarus was not a true resurrection. Lazarus would, someday, undergo death again. But the miracle was a sign of things to come. Moreover, it gave credibility to the teachings of Jesus – It brought many doubters to belief – And it made the enemies of Jesus more resolved to destroy him!

However, we must do more than merely believe in Jesus – We must also transform our lives to live up to what his commandments require and demand!

We cannot live by the “flesh” of which St. Paul speaks in today’s New Testament reading. Not at all! Instead, we must live by the “spirit”. By “flesh”, St. Paul means all those things which deflect us from our orientation to God. “Flesh” is much more than eroticism. It is anything of the material order that leads us to be selfish and self-serving. This includes pride, greed, lust, anger, sloth, envy, and scandal. All these things dehumanize us and keep us from being the child of God whom He created for so much more!

Brothers and Sisters, if we live in the “spirit”, then the Holy Spirit of God will possess us and direct all that we do. If we live in the spirit, we become one with the Holy Spirit and are truly brothers and sisters of Jesus, himself. And, as such, we are co-heirs with him in the Kingdom of Heaven wherein we will live after our own resurrection whenever that day comes.

So, we need not fear death. Death is never the end of life. We can live each day in hope for something more – something infinitely more! Consequently, let us pray, that we are up to this great calling – and that God will grace us with whatever we need to fulfill it!

Amen.

March 29, 2020 Msgr. Russell G. Terra
Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Redding, CA
*http://www.stjosephredding.org/parish-homilies.html