The Lenten Season of Love takes a dramatic shift and a new depth when from the Cross to huddling in fear, to discovering the empty tomb we meet our Risen Savior. We come to understand love in a whole new way.
Evil has not conquered.
Sin has not got the last word.
Death has lost its sting.
for
Love is stronger than death.
Love lives and breathes and moves.
Love is our life in the Risen Lord.
This Lenten journey as a Season of Love began with the thought “May God open your heart even more to what God has in store for you.” Those words echo true now again: Lent behind us, on the threshold of the Resurrection and into the joy-filled season of Easter. Over Lent our hearts have been opened, God has spoken to us and God continues to have more in store for us.
As I reflect on my own Lenten journey I know God has spoken to me and shown me glimpses of what is in store through times of prayer, the wisdom of guides, in the quiet, through friends, in my longings, in reconciliation, in deep breaths while trying to live the gospel, with scripture, in the Eucharist. Each time God has spoken to me God’s underlining message has been, “I love you, no matter what!” It is here that I am taken aback and marvel at the sweetness of these words. It is amazing to me how these words, how “I love you” calls me to life and to love and to the gift of the Resurrection.
It is here, now in these Easter moments that love propels us forward into life as people of the Resurrection. The Lenten Season of Love takes us beyond words, beyond actions, beyond fasting and almsgiving, beyond our longings and puts us in direct contact with love – with love himself – Jesus our Risen Lord. Jesus – our brother who died, whose death on a cross brings us into the fullness of God’s love. God’s love for each one of us, no matter what, no matter who, no matter where for God’s love claims us through the cross and embraces us in Easter light. Love is our way – which is not always easy, yet we love because we are loved, love that defeated death and love that settles deep in our heart and stirs within us, causing us to cry out: Alleluia!
In reflecting upon Lent: The Season of Love, I offer
The Love of Christ Risen Litany
When love feels strained and rigid,
When faith seems static, even dry,
When hope is caught up in falseness,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When prayer is nothing but lost for words,
When relationships sour with pride,
When leadership continues to fail,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When darkness suffocates the light,
When thriving in life is the farthest thing possible,
When being an ambassador breaks us,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When newness is buried deep,
When knowing our belovedness seems impossible,
When brotherly support is struggling,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When giving of our all leaves us life-less,
When the heart is impacted by wounds,
When ‘cost’ of living is forgotten,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When friends betray us,
When family is challenge,
When time is filled up and there is more to do and be,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When strength is not in grasp,
When a broken heart is all that we have,
When the cross is too heavy to bear,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When the tomb closes in around us,
When fear consumes us,
When the stone at the tomb is sealed,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
When the tomb is empty and we are in disbelief,
When we met the gardener and ask questions,
When we realize who it is who lives,
Christ Risen says: I Love You.
We rejoice and in turn say:
Alleluia! Christ Risen, I Love You! Alleluia!
Blessings to fill your Easter time – A whole new Season of Love!
Joy is the echo of God’s life in us. – Abbot Marmion