Finding Easter Amid a World Crisis

I don’t know about you, but there was a part of me that hoped all of this would just go away once Easter came.

Like, I was really praying for an Easter miracle. My 5-year-old was praying—expecting—an Easter miracle. And if I know anything about the prayers of children, it’s that God truly listens to them. But God, in His goodness, continues to remind us that we are not in control, and that His ways are far from our ways. 

So where do we go from here? How do we carry on as an "Easter people" in the midst of a global crisis?

I think in a way, it was much easier to accept the suffering, sacrifice, and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic during the season of Lent. After all, Lent is all about suffering and sacrifice, right? And for a little while, I think we were good at viewing this time as an opportunity for taking on extra devotions and deepening our faith.

We told ourselves, “Hey, look at all the extra time you have now! Let’s read a bunch of great books, study the Bible, grow our prayer lives!” And Lent was the perfect setting for that. That is the beauty of the Church and Her seasons. In Lent, we're given a set timeframe to take on manageable aspirations and asceticisms.

Yet somehow, we find ourselves now in the most joyful season of the Church with things perhaps worse than before.

The joy of Easter is truly in stark contrast—and maybe even pails in comparison—to the continuing fear that surrounds our world, our economy, and our lives. We find ourselves questioning how and why we should even celebrate the Easter season at all….what with the perpetual Lent we seem to be stuck in.

As a result, our added aspirations that we willingly took on a month ago are thrown aside. It was much easier to unite our sufferings when we were in a season of penance. But now... in a season of joy and hope, what does that even look like? And most importantly, how do we truly live as an Easter people without the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist?!

I’d like to share a connection I made while in prayer this past Holy Saturday. 

For years, I've been guilty of skipping from Good Friday straight to Easter Sunday, spiritually speaking. What does the Church even do on Holy Saturday, before the Vigil, anyway? Holy Saturday is just that quiet time when Jesus was in the tomb. Nothing too special there. Right?

Wrong!

Why is Holy Saturday so quiet? Jesus isn't just in the tomb taking a long nap...He's in Hell, smashing Satan in the face and liberating all the souls of the just! Holy Saturday may be quiet from our vantage point on earth, but in the spiritual realm, it is anything BUT quiet.

Without Holy Saturday, there is no Easter Sunday. Jesus couldn't have gone from the Cross, to the grave and back again without going down into Hell and triumphing over death.

And that's where our current world crisis comes into play.

On some level, we—our world and our Church—are still in Holy Saturday. On Holy Saturday, the altar lays bare and the tabernacle door swings open, revealing nothing inside. No Masses are said during the day. The Eucharist is only allowed to be given as viaticum—"food for the journey"—for those about to die. The churches are empty, because nothing is happening there. Sound familiar?

But where is Jesus? He is completing the battle. His earthly battle accomplished, He descends to where we have not gone—cannot go—and He fights and wins. And the next day, He rises, triumphant and joyful. And that joy gives us reason to hope.

Brothers and sisters, we still have a reason to hope. Our Easter joy may be quiet and a bit lonely right now, but our Lord is still fighting for us. He is still with us. We may not have gotten the Easter miracle that my 5-year-old son and I were praying for, but that does not diminish the first and greatest Easter miracle of all! Beyond all of this chaos, salvation is the only thing we need.

So don't let this COVID-19 pandemic steal your hope this Easter.

It's okay to still feel sad, to long for things to be what they once were. It's probably not unlike how Mary and the other disciples felt on Holy Saturday. But this too shall pass. And there's still plenty to rejoice in! God is still fighting alongside us, doing much more than we see, realize, or understand.

Let's take up our Easter joy in the midst of this chapter of waiting. If I may suggest, here are some simple at-home ideas for finding a brighter outlook:

• Take on a new prayer habit for the season of Easter...but one that reminds you to hope! I like to pray the glorious mysteries of the Rosary every day of the Easter season, and this prayer is a daily necessity.
• Make/paint your own Paschal candle (it's easy—my kids and I did this in less than 10 minutes with a dollar store candle and nail polish), and light it when you stream Mass, pray, and eat meals.
• Decorate your house with scripture quotes, flowers, and sparkly things, just as our churches would be during this season.
• "Attend" daily Mass or read the daily readings. Remind yourself of the Church's triumph. In those infamous words of JP2, "we are an Easter people, and 'Alleulia' is our song!"