Punishment or Mercy: The Divine Hand in the Age of the Coronavirus

Whilst there appears to be a never-ending stream of analyses of the implications of the coronavirus, one aspect of the current crisis that has received considerably less attention is the role of Divine Providence without whose loving guidance or permission nothing happens in world history.

This is the theme of Punishment or mercy – The divine hand at the age of the coronavirus, a collection of essays by Roberto de Mattei, published by Calx Mariae, an imprint of Voice of the Family. In a series of talks and articles published throughout 2020, the professor of history assesses the pandemic in the light of divine judgment. Referring to saints, popes, accounts of divine interventions recorded throughout salvation history, and recalling Our Lady’s prophetic words to the children in Fatima, Professor de Mattei demonstrates how God punishes the collective sins of men and nations through natural disasters. This is because nations, unlike individuals, do not have an eternal life and therefore receive their reward or punishment on earth.