Ebola, a viral disease named after a river in Congo, has continued to clog headlines, scare people & top prayers. With 4500 deaths & the denial of honorary burial, the scars will deepen even more. Saturday morning, my thumbing through a newspaper caught & froze my attention. I glanced at a picture of a boy held in the air by two entirely covered medics. The boy's intent & dismal look sank my heart. What followed wasn't reading, but a prayerful silence: "Lord, have mercy on us" (Mt 20:30). (I later found the photo on the web, but nothing about the innocent victim -- I wish he survived.) We grieve the loss; cry with the heartbroken; and plead for mercy as well as protection.