We have all been living an extended Good Friday through the challenges of the Coronovirus with all the fear and uncertainty and a myriad of additional emotional responses to it.  We have watched people’s income be significantly impacted, we have additional concern for the poor and disenfranchised and we worry about ourselves and our family and friends.  We also now know the potential impact on such enormous, almost unimaginable numbers of people who could or will likely die from it and we might be asking where is God in all this pain, worry and uncertainty?  Ignatius was inspired and wanted to know Jesus more deeply and so he prayed, listened and paid attention to the “movements of his heart, his desires, and his senses”.  What if we looked for God there within our own heart, body, desires and senses?  As the Psalm says “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”  Peace and blessings, as we enter Holy Week and look forward to Easter and the HOPE the Resurrection provides in God’s faithfulness, love and peace.

As we enter Holy Week, I read this reflection from Fr Don Talafous, OSB and wanted to share it with you:

Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

It has dawned on readers, I hope, in the course of these reflections, that the writer believes the resurrection should have a huge impact on our life and attitude. Yet, it would be too simple to believe that the resurrection quickly erases our own Good Fridays. It should be one of those obvious truths that we can’t run ahead to Easter without having walked through Good Friday.

If Easter faith is too easy it might be false, superficial. Inexperience or extremely odd circumstances might have shielded one or the other of us from Good Friday, from some sort of suffering or pain. But Easter and the hope it brings only come to full significance after that Friday.

Even when we are able to come to Easter after a particularly deep wound, our joy in Easter may still have a bit of a melancholic edge. To suggest that faith in the resurrection blots out all sorrow, pain, and difficulty, would certainly be to suggest a too-easy answer. Jesus only came to the resurrection through the suffering and discouragement of Good Friday; it certainly can’t be otherwise for us. Easter does not come too easily. But it does follow Good Friday. We pray and trust that a joyous reunion with friends will follow coronavirus.

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

If you are interested in exploring this and other aspects of the heart and life more deeply, I am available at Loyola as your sacred listener and spiritual companion.  I can be reached at linda.cherek@loyolaspiritualitycenter.org and 651-641-0008 ext. 26

Daily Reflections by Fr Don Talafous are available at https://saintjohnsabbey.org/reflection