Psalm 27: 13-14: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord!”
HAPPY EASTER!!! This blog was attempted so many times over the past few weeks. First, I thought I would talk about Lent, then I would talk about Holy Week and now it is Easter! Where does the time go! I hope you were able to have a beautiful Easter weekend with your families!
As I reflected on this past Lent, Holy Week and Easter, this verse from Psalms stuck out. I think it is because I see its relevance during those hard days of Lent, and then I see it again during the expectancy of Holy Week, but as I enter this octave of the Easter season, I still see it playing out.
This verse screams patience to me. I do not think anyone likes to be patient. We all want what we want when we want it. (I’m preaching to myself here too.) Nobody wants to wait for anything, and our culture says we don’t have to…. you name it, you can have it. On your doorstep, in your inbox, on your screen. Not much waiting involved. (This will reveal my age BUT I can remember having to wait for “forever” for the next episode or season of my favorite show. Binge watching then would probably mean gorging out on a bag of chips while watching TV. LOL)
When I was discerning whether to write this blog about Lent, Holy Week or Easter, something occurred to me. Although there are distinct differences between these Liturgical seasons, patience is present in all of them.
I must admit my Lent was fruitful this year. It’s not always this way but something about this year had me going a little deeper in my spiritual life. During this whole time, I waited in expectant hope for what Holy Week would bring. Holy Week came and it too was filled with a renewed love for our Catholic faith and the celebration of the Mass. Not only were the Triduum celebrations at my parish filled with such reverence and beauty, but I also got to experience the diocesan Chrism mass at the Cathedral for the first time. All these combined gave me a renewed love for our Catholic faith in all its simplicity, grandeur, deep traditions, and symbolism. Then Easter came and I thought the waiting was over, but I was wrong.
Alleluia! He is Risen!! This echoes from my heart. Our Lord and Savior has defeated death, and we rejoice! However, this does not mean all our sufferings, trials and tribulations automatically disappear. We are still in wait mode. To be honest, up until this past Lent, when I heard that Christ was there with me in our struggles, I struggled to know what to do with that. It’s not that I didn’t believe it, I just didn’t know what that meant for me in the moment. I’m happy to say that this past Lent cracked the door in that understanding for me. Although I am still in a “waiting” season in parts of my life, I am experiencing strength and courage in those struggles knowing and feeling Him holding me when I don’t have the answers. In fact, Christ has promised us that in this world we will always have troubles BUT because He has opened the doors to heaven for us sinners, we do wait patiently for that one day when we hopefully will “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” So, “be strong, and let your heart take courage,” even in this Easter season, as we journey closer to Him and grow more w-holy and healthy.
Lifting You in Prayer & Trusting in His Care,
Christine