One of the consequences brought by the onslaught of this pandemic is isolation. Consequently, it has emerged as a fruitful moment of reflection; of looking inwards and looking even more deeply into the mystery that constitutes each and every person.
The Easter of the year 2020 will go down as an Easter bereft of the joyful processions with the statue of the Resurrected Christ in many towns and villages in Malta and Gozo. Most importantly, the churches stand empty and we can only participate in the liturgy from afar. Maybe this stillness makes us more attuned to the stillness within which the mystery of God operates. The spirit of the human being becomes able to share in this stillness, which is the an insight into the heart of the Trinitarian operation.
This attitude which impels us inwards helps, with God's grace, to roll the stone away from our blindness which may impede our full potential in opening ourselves to God. Our lives are marked by many forms of death in its various forms. Yet, this is not the end of the story, for the Resurrection brings hope on many fronts. The Resurrection is not only an invitation to roll the stone away from our various forms of death, but a reminder that it is the whole person who is invited to participate in the Resurrection. Christ's death and resurrection is also a bodily death and resurrection. The dignity of humanity has been restored and transfigured. We become partakers in the divine glory. That is the greatness of God's love.
This tragic situation is a reminder that it is only a passage in the whole human drama. It does not dictate the end, yet it imparts a lesson. Ironically, it channels the greatness of humanity in the right direction, away from the false presumptions and superficial priorities. It is a portal for something much greater than a disconnected present, because it enables us to realign the reality of suffering along a greater journey, which ends in glory. This is why our present is illuminated by the beacon of hope, because it enables us to give meaning to these different situations, in channelling our beautiful experiences, our tragedies; our whole selves towards a future reality, which has been sealed with the suffering and glory of Christ.
