Editor’s Note

Apr 08, 2022

As Lent draws to a close and we start preparing for Holy Week, let’s take some time to slow down, stop and focus. For hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter) symbolises the very heart of our entire faith, encapsulated into a few days.

I love walking through the final week of Jesus' life, in a parallel of the Gospels, to imagine journeying with Him and His disciples through each of the final moments of His life.

I love reading the stories of the women and the disciples who experienced the resurrected Jesus at the empty tomb, the upper room, or the road to Emmaus.

I believe this week represents the most consequential moment in all of history - when sin was forgiven and the dark powers of empire and evil were absolutely doomed by the victorious resurrection of Jesus.

But I also want to be mindful that, for some, it's all a reminder of something painful. I want to pray for people to look to Jesus as the one whose wounds and stripes offer us healing, whose death offers us peace, and whose resurrection offers us hope.

Remember how many of us referred to Lent of 2020 as the “lentiest lent that ever lented.” This was the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global lock-down that ensued.

It was the time when things seemed most uncertain. The severity and lethality of the virus was generally unknown, information on its symptoms and contagion was changing rapidly, and Catholic churches around the world made the unparalleled decision to suspend the public celebration of Mass.

With lockdowns in full effect, most of us could only experience Mass from a screen. Of course, this substitute was a far cry from the presence, communion and spiritual regeneration one feels when celebrating Mass in their local parish and among their fellow faithful. As a friend of mine said about watching Mass online – “The fact is you can’t download the Eucharist.”

The experience of that period where we could only attend online Mass was undoubtedly filled with a sense of loss, that the world around us had been taken away, that the Lord remained hidden in His tabernacle and that we could only wait with uncertainty in the underground catacombs of our own homes.

But with this came an important lesson in humility, and perhaps this is where God’s providence was most at work during what we hope will be, for us, a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. The hustle and bustle of city life, the daily routines of our 9-to-5 jobs, the most basic experiences we take for granted like shaking a hand, hugging a friend or visiting a loved one – all of this was put in jeopardy. The entire world was brought to its knees by a tiny virus that is not visible to the naked eye.

It was a time that offered us a great spiritual reflection, a definitive proof that the foundations of life on earth are shaky and ever-temporary, and it is faith in God, His guidance and promises – that is the only certainty and constant hope we can hold to. And what does Easter represent if not the true source of all our hope – “Christ is Risen!”

Though the pandemic is still a reality today, thankfully we are now moving to the endemic stage. We can take some solace in the fact that we are blessed, once again this year, to be able to experience another Holy Week in church with our priests and our parish community. Although it still comes with some restrictions, we have the chance to come together, pray, and celebrate what are the most sacred days of our faith – Christ’s death on the Cross and His Resurrection.

Have a blessed and holy week!