By Linda Reeves - The Florida Catholic Palm Beach
MIAMI | The COVID-19 pandemic gets a hard look from an unusual source — a Catholic-oriented rap video — produced by a theology instructor.
Titled “This is Our Wake Up Call,” the video features lyrics written by Brother Michael Martinez of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, plus powerful images he organized, arranged and edited.
“This moment we are living is a wake-up call to a new potential world that God is inviting us to build together,” said Brother Mike, whose powerful music video has been viewed by thousands.
During the nearly three-minute clip, Brother Mike, wearing black, is shown standing near a simple altar rapping with soft voices and music in the background.
His lyrics deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but also other illnesses that many overlook or simply ignore. They include the thousands of hungry children in the United States alone; the millions of forgotten refugees around the world; the many who live in poverty and without drinkable water; and the continuing spread of HIV.
“We still wash our hands from the virus, but can't wash our hands from the violence,” he says in the video. “Can't touch your face, but how about all the other monsters that the world's got to face?”
Brother Mike, a native of Miami, is a seminarian in formation to be a Jesuit priest. He joined the Society of Jesus in 2013 and completed graduate studies at Loyola University in Chicago, earning degrees in social philosophy and digital storytelling.
He currently serves as a theology teacher and campus minster at Belen School, where he graduated in 2009.
After he felt moved by the Holy Spirit during prayer, he created a video that has been reported in several outlets, including Miami-based WSVN, The Jesuit Post, the Latino-owned LATV and various social media platforms.
He says the world and God’s people have two options, two paths to select from.
“We can attempt to go back to how things were pre-pandemic,” Brother Mike said. “Or we can attempt to embrace the graces showered upon us as a result of this quarantine period, and revisit the issues of our pre-COVID world that need to be transformed.”
He encourages the faithful to take God's path and ask for Jesus’ help and protection. “It is possible, with the grace of God, to finally face all those social viruses we have avoided in our globalized consumer society.”
When asked to share thoughts about the younger generation, and their potential for a better tomorrow, he gave some encouraging words.
“I think the youth of today are hungry for more,” said the young Jesuit, who has worked with youths of all different ages as part of his formation. “Their ability to dream and create with the tools of technology, never before seen in humanity, make concrete the infinite possibilities that exist for this world.”
Brother Mike noted that the word "coronavirus" is derived from the Latin and Spanishcorona, meaning crown. “I have learned during this time of the coronavirus to ask ourselves, what or who wears the crown in our personal and social lives? What do we prioritize? Our families, jobs, ego, money, faith? What wears the crown becomes our God.”
He ended by urging all to take this historical time of distancing, reflection and reckoning to realize what is really important in life and what God calls all of his people to do.
“Let us strive to ensure that Jesus Christ is the sole bearer of the crown in our lives,” he said.
