Entering Holy Week

It has been a very different Lenten season in that it is set within a global pandemic that has seen nation after nation locking down entire countries due to the horrendous numbers of people infected with the coronavirus. Healthcare systems are severely overburdened, the number of people dying globally is now over 80,000. 

We are all practising physical distancing and mostly working from home. Life, as we knew it, a scant four months ago, has changed completely and I am not even sure when we can return to what it was or will it ever be the same? I suspect not, for life is meant to change no matter what season of life we are in. Certainly not as drastic as this all the time, one hopes, but well, adapt we must.

I have to say I have struggled with all that has been happening, just seeing so much loss and suffering on a global level: reading about how doctors are forced to triage and let patients die because ICU resources are limited, of bodies littering corridors and streets because there is no more room in hospitals, and the sheer numbers of deaths. Then there is the financial and the social impact this pandemic has had: livelihoods threatened or lost, businesses going bust, domestic violence on the increase... it is just all round bad news, day after day. 

While I could never pretend to understand the depths of despair and the suffering that is being experienced, I have been grieving the losses in a very real way. Oftentimes I just block out the world in order not to feel overwhelmed, especially since there is very little that I can do save praying for the situation, which seems so futile, so hopeless. 

So this has been my biggest challenge over this particular Lenten season, how do I continue to live out my faith, to be life-giving, to bring light into a world filled with such darkness? How do I return to Him, the centre of my universe, and draw on His strength and courage in order to walk forward with hope and joy, and do the little things, live my little life (which has shrunk so dramatically) in meaningful ways? How do I make a difference every day?

I have come to realize that it is still possible to love intentionally, to do His will in all things, to act in His Spirit of generosity and compassion. Despite the great loss of receiving the Eucharist on my tongue, I can still be in spiritual communion and be in a rich, intimate and fulfilling relationship with Jesus as before. In fact, learning new ways of worshipping Him has probably heightened my sense of reverence for the Creator. It requires adaptation and great discipline to be faithful, but it is not impossible. As Saint Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 8, verse 35: Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. 

Journeying this Holy Week at home may be odd, but I know I can still walk with Him to Calvary, and stand at the foot of the cross, offering up my personal grief and losses, even as I stand in awe, and gratitude, at the ultimate sacrifice He made, the gift of His life, for all humanity out of sheer love.

I will keep praying, I will keep fasting, and I will keep giving alms. Renew my heart, O Lord, let me return to you in new ways so that I may continue to glorify you each day, especially in this Holy Week.