Loss

Loss is never easy. Loss always challenges us. It challenges our will power to overcome devastation. It challenges our resolve to rise from the ashes victorious. It challenges our belief system and values, often ushering in those crippling, defeatist questions, “Where is God?” “Does he care about me?”

As our world continues to labor under the birthing pains of this pandemic, we realize that we are surrounded by loss. Loss of finances and job security, loss of world trade and economy, loss of friends, family, and neighbors as inevitably individuals succumb to the illness. Loss of our freedoms to come and go as we please, loss of social contacts and family gatherings. Loss of communal fellowship in our churches, and loss of the sacraments.

And while all of these have the potential to shake us to our very core, none are more devastating than the loss of God in our lives.

We have now entered into the octave of Easter. We will begin to explore the Acts of the Apostles as well as the Gospels, which will serve to highlight the aftermath of the resurrection. Our readings from the past few days, coming from St. John and St. Matthew’s gospels, tell of the women coming to the empty tomb of Jesus. We read of the dialogue between the angels and the women followed by the dialogue between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene is “weeping at the tomb.” The disciples are huddled in the upper room completely paralyzed by their own fears. The loss of Jesus in the lives of his friends and followers threatened to destroy them and in effect all that Jesus had established during His ministry. The disciples lost their conviction, their zeal. They lost their purpose and their drive. In losing Jesus they lost themselves and were uncertain how to continue living. How could they be expected to return to a level or normalcy after what had happened, after what they had been through?

Sound familiar?

Jesus went before them, telling Mary Magdalene that He will be waiting for the disciples in Galilee. This message serves to provide hope. Hope that they would get through this difficult time. The prospect of being reunited with Jesus served to give their lives meaning.

Are we any different? We are the body of Christ. Jesus wants us to know that He is with us in our losses. He is with us even when we cannot be with Him in the Holy Mass. He reminds us that He goes before us always, preparing a place for us. If we keep our hearts fixed on Him we will be able to bear all our current hardships all the better.

This journey of the past few months has caught us all off guard. a truly unprecedented time for our modern world. The Easter octave takes on a greater meaning for us this year. The gospels are serving to remind us that we will never be forsaken. God the father gave us His son as proof of this. Let us do ourselves a favor and not lose the relevance of this reality.

May the difficulties we face during this time serve to bring us closer to God, not further from Him. May we remain faithful disciples unafraid to face the challenges that lie before us. May we rely on the Holy Spirit to provide us with the courage and conviction to persist on our journey, always in step with our Lord, never straying from His side.