April 6/Monday of Holy Week
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? ~ Ps 27.1
It feels darker than ever, this Holy Week. Sidelined by COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to share the joyous and hopeful community celebration of Palm Sunday. The borrowed donkey, the happy crowds chanting “Hosanna,” the strewn palms adorning the path of Jesus into Jerusalem — even that endless reading of the Passion — we experienced these more vicariously than usual, as we sat in our homes and streamed “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” over our computers. Now, on this Monday morning, we sense the deep rhythms of this week thrumming quietly, inexorably; they will build in ominous intensity as the Cross looms ever larger on the horizon. And in this liminal moment between triumph, and suffering, and triumph again, the psalmist invites us to join him in a reassuring melody of confidence and trust. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?” And again – the same and yet different – “The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” There is plenty of fear to go around these days — in addition to this near and present viral danger, we have worries about financial security, relationships, the future of the economy, the nature of our community life. This is the moment when we must again assume a posture of trust: our task is to seek the light of the LORD, to find in him our life’s refuge. The light may seem distant and small, the refuge far away, but we are reminded today that salvation will come. Ahead of us loom the sorrows of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion. But beyond those griefs lie the joys of new beginning, of new life, of the triumph of love, which is stronger than death. Let us be stout-hearted as we wait for the LORD.
Almighty and eternal God, Grant that I may place my trust in you in the midst of the many fears that assail me. Amen.
To hear Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “Dominus Illuminatio Mea,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jM0IeiWbnA
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040620.cfm
