Lent on steroids

THE world has given up more this Lent than during those in recent history. Catholics and non-Catholics alike had to retreat into their homes, give up their favourite foods, activities and places of gathering to avoid getting and spreading the coronavirus.

Newsday spoke to RC Archbishop Jason Gordon on April 8 by phone about the significance of Lent and Easter for the society as the country practises social distancing to avoid the spread of covid19.

He said in recent years, people didn’t change their behaviour much for Lent. Many, still “pumping” well after Carnival, made trivial sacrifices like forgoing chocolate.

But Lent is supposed to be a change in rhythm. It’s a period when people slow down, stop, retreat, inward and reflect.

Social distancing and self-isolation have forced everyone to stop. Gordon describes this experience as “Lent on steroids.”

At the beginning of Lent, Jesus walked into the desert for 40 days to fast and was tempted by the Devil. At the end of Carnival, Christians bid farewell to the flesh and enter a similar period of fasting.

For the archbishop, covid19 has deepened that connection.

“I’ve been calling covid19 the desert experience because a desert is an arid place, a dry place. It’s a hostile place. It’s a place where you fear death. It’s a place where nothing grows.”

Covid19 caused people to make sacrifices for the collective good by giving up their income, food and financial security.

Gordon said people could make these sacrifices with resentment or with the belief that they will lead to something better.

“The better is the recognition that we have not been living the way God wanted us to live. We have not put God first in our life. We have not seen the importance or the need for God.”

He said people have been living on the basis of their own feelings, ambitions, likes and dislikes, and not according to God’s will. Gordon said God has “purpose for us, and the whole world has been put to stop, and we have been ready to pause and after think again about what we’re doing.”

Humanity has mistreated wildlife, neglected climate change, damaged the ecology and destroyed parts of nature, disrupting the balance of the ecosystem.

Like naughty children, the archbishop said, Mother Nature sent humanity to their rooms to reflect on the environmental impact everyday life has caused.

“Go back into your house. Go back into your room and think about what you have caused. Humanity has been reckless with the globe.”

Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Gloria Saturday, make up the Triduum (three days), the most sacred period in the liturgical calendar.

Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, instituting the Holy Eucharist of his body and blood, as celebrated in every mass.

“The Holy Thursday night is such a powerful night because it gives us a meal, which is the meal of the bread of life, where we feed on the flesh of God.

“That night reminds us we are the body of Christ, and that means we are integrally connected with everybody.”

That is the night Judas betrayed Jesus, and the ceremonial washing of the feet is done to symbolise Jesus’ humility and service to others. Because of covid19, there was no washing of the feet at any church this year.

Good Friday marks the passion – suffering – of Christ. Various parts of his journey up Calvary Hill for His crucifixion is re-enacted through the Stations of the Cross. The church is bare. It is the most solemn day.

This Good Friday, Gordon said, will be particularly powerful, as western civilisation is going through its own crucifixion by covid19. He said it has been stripped of its excesses, grandeur, myth of progress and the notion that things get better all the time.

“The veneer of western civilisation has allowed us to believe we can put our hopes in technology and science, and therefore we don’t need God. That veneer is now being pulled aside and we are looking through it and seeing something very different, and that’s what this Good Friday is about.”

Gordon believes this “crucifixion” will also bring a resurrection where humanity becomes kinder, care more for those who are poor and marginalised and look out for each other.

As many people are unable to work, the Catholic Church has started donation drives. People pack food and unused technological devices in their trunks and deliver them to the church. The items are sanitised. Social distance is maintained because volunteers collect the items from the trunks without interacting with each other.

Gloria Saturday is the biggest celebration in the church’s calendar. Easter vigil is kept and the Paschal candle is lit. The vigil celebrates Jesus’s resurrection and destruction of death and the promise of eternal life.

Roman Catholics are being encouraged this time to keep vigil in their home and light their own candle. Historically people would be welcomed into the church through the sacraments of initiation such as baptism, communion and confirmation, but this has had to be postponed. The renewal of priests’ vows was also postponed. But all churches will still ring their bells at 8 pm on Saturday to ring in Easter.

The archbishop wants to remind everyone that working together and supporting one another keeps the country running.

“We are connected to each other: (to) the person who is dying, the person who is suffering, the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers on the frontline, the teachers who have had to continue teaching in extraordinary ways and using things they never dreamt of using to convey teaching and meaning to their children.”

Gordon said hope does not die if things get worse. Hope cannot save people from suffering but if people have hope in God, they will believe that good will come out of covid19.

“Although people are going to be dying, and many people are going to be sick, nations are going to be set back – there are incredible things that have already started to happen. The environment is already breathing a whole new breath.”

With humanity inside, he said there is a resetting of the world. China had a significant reduction in air pollution and animals that normally avoid people can walk around and explore their earth too.

“Hope is not that we will magically come out of this on Easter Sunday. Our hope is, whatever this cost is and wherever this takes us, we will emerge out of this a much stronger people with a much more vibrant faith.”

Connecting with people in the time of covid19 is important. Even though people must stay physically apart to stop spreading the germs, connecting with communities will help them make it through the self-isolation.

“It’s in a time like this that we recognise that we were not born to live alone. Even if you’re living in a house by yourself, you need human contact.”

Gordon encouraged people to video chat every day because it is important to see the faces of loved ones.

“People need face-to-face. They need to see each other, and that’s how we were created.”

If someone is alone right now, reach out to them, he urged.

“And if you’re alone because of some misunderstanding with somebody in your family or some friend, please reach out to them and move past the hostility. Let’s build bridges of love and friendship.”

The passion and crucifixion of Christ is a time when people are encouraged to forgive as Jesus asked for forgiveness on the cross when he said, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’”

Gordon said people allow grudges and resentments to stop them from reaching out. Pride is the root of all sin, and most times lack of forgiveness is rooted in pride.

“The reason why we don’t reach out to somebody and say let’s just put this behind us is usually pride. It’s pride that stops us from doing the right thing, and it is pride that stops us from reaching out.”

He said God paid the ultimate price by giving up His only begotten Son for the forgiveness of humanity’s sins.

“The cost of reconciliation with God is the blood of Jesus Christ. It was an incredibly high price. What we are asked to pay for reconciling with a neighbour, a friend, a brother, a sister, a family member – that cost is nothing in comparison to the cost God has paid for our reconciliation.”

During the Last Supper, Jesus gave his apostles the commandment to: “Love one another just as I have loved you.”

Archbishop Gordon wants people to share that same love with their community and reach out to each other in support during the covid19 crisis.

“Let us not delay. Just pick up our phone, send a WhatsApp, send a message – send something to build a bridge, so that we get past the bridge of grudges and resentment and create communities of love again.”