We are entering the Holy Season of Lent, and grief is on the far side of the celebration. It has been three years since everything changed with Covid. Many people have lost loved ones over the past three years. My wife lost a sister and I lost a brother. Loss is never forgotten, and the pain, while lessening, never disappears. In fact, the loss never really leaves you.
This Lent, we can encounter the holiness of grief and allow ourselves to grieve for those we lost yesterday, last month, last year, or 20 years ago. Talk to someone or seek help in addressing your grief. Turn it over to our Lord. Let us also remember those we lost. In remembrance, the light of Christ will break through our tears.
Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to new and eternal life. With Christ, we grieve, but our promise is that we are part of his divine life. Through the Holy Spirit, we share in Christ’s victory over death. For people of faith, life has changed, not ended, when one dies. This Lent, allow yourself to grieve, and on Easter morning, let us proclaim, “He is Risen.”