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| How a Jesuit Priest in Quarantine Spends His Sundays | How a Jesuit Priest in Quarantine Spends His Sundays |
| (2 months later) | |
| On Sundays, the Rev. Mario Powell, who is almost certainly the city’s youngest African-American Jesuit priest, would typically crisscross the city, celebrating Mass with congregations in Harlem and Downtown Brooklyn. | On Sundays, the Rev. Mario Powell, who is almost certainly the city’s youngest African-American Jesuit priest, would typically crisscross the city, celebrating Mass with congregations in Harlem and Downtown Brooklyn. |
| But recently, like most New Yorkers, he has stayed at home. | But recently, like most New Yorkers, he has stayed at home. |
| “My connection to the church is through my sacramental ministry,” said Father Powell, who is 38. “Now that I don’t have it, especially this time of year when you have the High Holy Days coming up — it’s weird.” | “My connection to the church is through my sacramental ministry,” said Father Powell, who is 38. “Now that I don’t have it, especially this time of year when you have the High Holy Days coming up — it’s weird.” |
| The son of an Air Force jet engine mechanic, Father Powell discovered Catholicism in eighth grade and entered the Jesuits in 2003. During his training he served stints as a jail chaplain and as a hospital orderly. In 2019, he was appointed president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, a private middle school serving primarily low-income students. | The son of an Air Force jet engine mechanic, Father Powell discovered Catholicism in eighth grade and entered the Jesuits in 2003. During his training he served stints as a jail chaplain and as a hospital orderly. In 2019, he was appointed president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, a private middle school serving primarily low-income students. |
| Father Powell lives with eight other priests in a Jesuit community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where the men typically share meals, chores and services in a small chapel. But last week, after one priest tested positive for the coronavirus, the men have been living largely in isolation. | Father Powell lives with eight other priests in a Jesuit community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where the men typically share meals, chores and services in a small chapel. But last week, after one priest tested positive for the coronavirus, the men have been living largely in isolation. |
| AWAKE IN BED I’ve gotten to the age where I can’t really sleep in anymore, which is a little sad. I usually get up around 4:45, and on Sundays I’ll stay in bed — I won’t get out of bed until at least 6 o’clock, even though I’m up. That’s a little thing I’ll give myself on a Sunday. Part of the reason I wake up so early is it’s the only time of the day that I feel like I can pray. | AWAKE IN BED I’ve gotten to the age where I can’t really sleep in anymore, which is a little sad. I usually get up around 4:45, and on Sundays I’ll stay in bed — I won’t get out of bed until at least 6 o’clock, even though I’m up. That’s a little thing I’ll give myself on a Sunday. Part of the reason I wake up so early is it’s the only time of the day that I feel like I can pray. |
| COFFEE RUN, ON HOLD I like to go around the corner, there is a little coffee shop that has these wonderful pastries and I’ll pick up some drip coffee. But I haven’t gone out in the last month. It really changes the routine because — to be able to at least get outside for a couple of minutes, the barista knows me, and knows my order — you don’t really have that interaction anymore. | COFFEE RUN, ON HOLD I like to go around the corner, there is a little coffee shop that has these wonderful pastries and I’ll pick up some drip coffee. But I haven’t gone out in the last month. It really changes the routine because — to be able to at least get outside for a couple of minutes, the barista knows me, and knows my order — you don’t really have that interaction anymore. |
| MUTED The way we worship together in the community has changed. The chairs are very spread out. There are all these little variations that we’ve had to get used to. Even singing: I was reading about the amount that people spray their saliva as they’re singing, and so it was recommended that we don’t sing during Mass. But now that a brother Jesuit priest in the community tested positive, we aren’t all gathering in the chapel any more. | MUTED The way we worship together in the community has changed. The chairs are very spread out. There are all these little variations that we’ve had to get used to. Even singing: I was reading about the amount that people spray their saliva as they’re singing, and so it was recommended that we don’t sing during Mass. But now that a brother Jesuit priest in the community tested positive, we aren’t all gathering in the chapel any more. |
| LITTLE BOXES Yesterday I celebrated Mass over Zoom, and that’s a completely different way of going about it. I’m used to a 30-person gospel choir, versus I have my tablet on the altar and 12 boxes on my screen: that’s my congregation. I prepared it in the same way I would prepare Mass for 300 people. At points, quite frankly, the kids were screaming in the background and some of the congregants forgot to press the mute button and you just had to roll with it. I found it very comforting, having all that stuff going on. | LITTLE BOXES Yesterday I celebrated Mass over Zoom, and that’s a completely different way of going about it. I’m used to a 30-person gospel choir, versus I have my tablet on the altar and 12 boxes on my screen: that’s my congregation. I prepared it in the same way I would prepare Mass for 300 people. At points, quite frankly, the kids were screaming in the background and some of the congregants forgot to press the mute button and you just had to roll with it. I found it very comforting, having all that stuff going on. |
| BACK TO BASICS While Covid-19 has definitely changed my Sunday and I definitely miss being present in the church, and I don’t think there’s anything that replaces that, I also think it’s given us opportunities for some really great conversations about faith. It’s been a forced change, but it’s also forced me to go back to basics. | BACK TO BASICS While Covid-19 has definitely changed my Sunday and I definitely miss being present in the church, and I don’t think there’s anything that replaces that, I also think it’s given us opportunities for some really great conversations about faith. It’s been a forced change, but it’s also forced me to go back to basics. |
| We’re all in the same boat here. Hopefully, outside of this moment of pandemic, it should remind us that we’re not only in the same boat in times of crisis. We ought to be in the same boat when it comes to access to health care, and education, and everything else. | We’re all in the same boat here. Hopefully, outside of this moment of pandemic, it should remind us that we’re not only in the same boat in times of crisis. We ought to be in the same boat when it comes to access to health care, and education, and everything else. |
| Updated June 24, 2020 | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| ESCAPE I’ve been trying to read more. I just finished “The Sound of Things Falling” by Juan Gabriel Vásquez. It’s a fantastic novel. I find reading novels for me to be a point of departure. It’s an escape from being in charge, and you just allow the author to take you wherever the author is going to take you. | ESCAPE I’ve been trying to read more. I just finished “The Sound of Things Falling” by Juan Gabriel Vásquez. It’s a fantastic novel. I find reading novels for me to be a point of departure. It’s an escape from being in charge, and you just allow the author to take you wherever the author is going to take you. |
| SOLITUDE AND PAPER PLATES In the community, we would normally have dinner as nine people together around a single table at the same time. But with the protocols that are out there, someone will put the food out and guys will grab a paper plate and either eat in their rooms or at a table by themselves. We really prize living in community, and not being able to eat in community is a big deal. | SOLITUDE AND PAPER PLATES In the community, we would normally have dinner as nine people together around a single table at the same time. But with the protocols that are out there, someone will put the food out and guys will grab a paper plate and either eat in their rooms or at a table by themselves. We really prize living in community, and not being able to eat in community is a big deal. |
| VIRTUAL CAROUSING A Zoom happy hour is a wonderful creation of God: everyone has a drink, and the idea is to encourage folks to not necessarily drink on their own, but to drink with friends and people that they care about, and to do it via video. These are priests who entered the Jesuits with me a long time ago now. We go on for like two and a half hours. | VIRTUAL CAROUSING A Zoom happy hour is a wonderful creation of God: everyone has a drink, and the idea is to encourage folks to not necessarily drink on their own, but to drink with friends and people that they care about, and to do it via video. These are priests who entered the Jesuits with me a long time ago now. We go on for like two and a half hours. |
| BLESSINGS I will pray what we call the Examen before going to bed. And that’s simply a check-in: looking throughout my day. These are the points in time in which God has blessed me. These are the conversations that I’ve had, the people I’ve encountered, which I can really categorize as being blessings. | BLESSINGS I will pray what we call the Examen before going to bed. And that’s simply a check-in: looking throughout my day. These are the points in time in which God has blessed me. These are the conversations that I’ve had, the people I’ve encountered, which I can really categorize as being blessings. |
| It’s just pointing those things out and asking God for guidance, and then pausing to give thanks for the gifts and for the opportunities to learn from my mistakes. And I’m praying that I may have another day to do this again. | It’s just pointing those things out and asking God for guidance, and then pausing to give thanks for the gifts and for the opportunities to learn from my mistakes. And I’m praying that I may have another day to do this again. |