God’s Conduit of Care
Unlike previous Holy Weeks, the landscape for 2020’s prayerful remembrances last April was bleak and barren. Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist without a congregation due to restrictions caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The photos and video from inside virtually empty St. Peter’s Basilica spoke volumes about the global impact of an unseen threat, as well as an eerie reminder of the genesis of the first Good Friday—Jesus wounded and alone on the cross.
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45–46).
In this season of Lent, and always as prescribed in the principles of Catholic social teaching, answering the call to serve “these least ones” should ring loudly in our ears and echo in our hearts (see Matthew 25:35–46).
Putting a Face on the Forsaken
Forsaken encapsulates the anguish of being forgotten, overlooked, and cast out. For instance, if you struggle to pay all your bills each month, Jesus’ outcry in prayer from the cross becomes more urgent, more painful, more personal for you. Imagine the agony for the truly destitute…