Holy Week Letter April 8, 2020

April 8, 2020

Dear Our Lady of Lourdes Families,

“Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”                                                                                                                                 1 Corinthians 13:7

At no time in our own lifetimes perhaps, has Holy Week been more meaningful with its themes of despair, desolation, and suffering.  Maybe we are relating to the Suffering Christ in ways we did not think possible, given our current circumstances. 

The account of Holy Week though, is basically a love story, of God for all of us.  The quotation above from the New Testament finds its perfect fulfillment in the Suffering Christ.  If we could truly comprehend the love that Christ has for each one of us, how life-changing it would be. 

In reflecting upon the events of Holy Week, we see the love Jesus shows to all around him.  In recognizing that his death is imminent, Christ institutes the Holy Eucharist so that his presence will always remain here on earth after he goes to the Father.  Simply put, he did not want us to be alone.  Christ, the Master and Teacher, humbly washes the feet of his disciples.  He does not judge the one who betrays him nor his own beloved disciples, most of whom flee or pretend not to know him when he needs them the most.  He continues to love them despite their weakness.

When Jesus is sentenced to death, he does not condemn those who have unjustly condemned him.  The unparalleled love that he has for his Mother as he sees her on the way to Calvary, the gratitude that he has for the compassion given him by Simon and Veronica show us that Christ was able to love despite the sense of abandonment he must have felt.   While he hangs dying on the Cross, he prays “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” extending forgiveness -- the complete expression of love -- to his murderers.  To the “good” thief who indicates his belief in Jesus, he promises Paradise.   Despite his imminent death, Jesus gives us the great gift of his Mother to care for us.  We see that Jesus thought about and loved others until his dying breath.

Christ bore all of our sins and endured all suffering but did not despair, clinging to the will of his Father.  He has proven his love for his Father and for each one of us without a doubt.   The challenge for us in the here and now is to imitate Christ within the unpredictable circumstances of our lives, to live his love and to bring it to all whose lives we touch.  We recognize that we cannot do this on our own.  Christ makes the impossible possible through the Resurrection and so we rejoice:

“ The Lord has indeed risen.  Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be His, now and forever.”

Perfect love in the Person of Christ has triumphed over death.

My prayer for all of us – Our Lady of Lourdes School Community – is that despite what everyone is going through – we share in the hope, glory, and joy of the Resurrection.
May the blessings of the Risen Christ be with you all and may you always know his great love for you.  
 
Happy Easter!
Suzanne Kaszynski, Principal