Today is a hollow day: No Mass, empty tabernacles, no Jesus. No Jesus...what must it have been like for his followers, torn by grief and fear after the death of their beloved leader, the eclipse of the sun, the earthquake, the rending of the temple veil? We know how fear grips us after a terrorist attack; life as normal stops. Did the apostles even remember Jesus' promise to rise again on the third day? The Jews did, and begged Pilate to authorize the tomb to be sealed and a guard posted. It was a time of shock and paralysis. Witness the slowness to believe the women who brought news of the empty tomb. It took a lot of convincing, so ingrained was the finality of death, despite the words of hope Jesus had given them.
We might examine our own ability to believe, to hope as we take time today to imagine that day after the crucifixion. We might fast and continue to deny ourselves (even though Lent is over) to give ourselves that "empty feeling", create an atmosphere of a "Jesus-less" world, and make our longing for the resurrection keener. This will help us appreciate the drama of the Easter Vigil and the joy of Easter Sunday even more. All this is hard to do with "life as usual" heightened by preparation for Easter Dinner, but worth a try.
Bro. Rene
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