Grief in the Lenten Season

As we traverse the silent deserts of Lent, our souls often stumble upon the rough terrain of grief.  Together, we confront mortality and seek the solace that faith provides, sharing a prayer that interweaves our need for comfort with the cyclical nature of life reflected in Ecclesiastes.

Embarking on this spiritual expedition requires stillness, an open heart, and a listening ear to the whispers of the eternal love that surrounds us amidst the tumult. This episode is an invitation to companionship, an offer to join hands with Jesus in the desert, to share the burden of grief as He shares in ours.

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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WHILE GRIEVING IS AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE

You can reach us at: ccoutreach@dsj.org
To arrange personal spiritual direction:  408-359-5542


Our theme music is:  Gentle Breeze by Yeti Music from the album "Uppbeat".
Additional Music and sound effects today by:   via Pixabay

Transcript

Candee: 0:38

Welcome to this week's episode of Solace: Soul + Grief. I'm Candee Lucas. We're glad you're here. This podcast is sponsored by Catholic Cemeteries in the Diocese of San Jose. The death of a loved one is a very difficult life transition and we hope we can answer some of your questions, help you find where God is moving in your life as you continue your grief journey, and remind you of the power of your faith and love for God. You're always welcome in our circle of healing, love and care.

Candee: 1:46

As we enter the Lenten season, I am reminded that as we contemplate this period of Jesus' life in the desert, it calls to mind the desolation of our grief, and so I offer this prayer: Jesus, we are broken, so many of us, just broken by life. We seemed we thought we knew what was best, what would make our life okay. Invariably it didn't. We reached out to each other, but we're met with fear and indifference that was practically institutional in scope. Why? Why, Jesus? We need you Every day and every night. We so need you. We need your arms around us 24-7. We need you that much. We cannot take a step without you, a breath without you. Hold us up. We need you to do that for us While you are holding us up? Who is holding you? Who? We followed you into the desert because you asked us. To what we saw and witnessed there, we cannot say now we went for burnishment. We came back with the retinas of our eyes burned out and shadowed into their reverse colors and shapes, blinded to the love and the need around us, and how equal they are to sides of one coin that you cannot see through but is invisible. That is how your love is Solid, so solid. Yet when I hold it in my hand it disappears like a dandelion angel in a very pale breeze. Love us, we need you to, Amen.

Candee: 4:49

The experience of grief during Lent can be a profound one. The church itself is on a 40-day retreat, as it were, examining its conscious, its choices, its relationship with God. It is a retreat along with our daily lives, and I should find it all that much harder to grieve during this period. But we should remember that it is during this period that Jesus contemplates his place on earth, his mission, his goals, his own dreams and the realization that his life on earth is limited. He is probably experiencing what Buddhists call the bardo, which is an in-between place, something between life and death, something between now and then, something between hope and desperation. He comes face to face with his aloneness, the solitary path that he must walk. He loves his father, experiences the love of his father for him, yet knows the path will be a difficult one.

Candee: 7:18

Ecclesiastes reminds us of the constancy of God's love. One generation goes, another comes, but the earth remains the same forever. The sun rises, the sun sets and glides back to where it rises, southward blowing, turning northward, ever turning. Blows the wind On its rounds, the wind returns. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full to the place from which they flow, the streams flow back again. No man can ever state them. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear enough of hearing. Only that shall happen, which has happened, only that occur, which has occurred. There is nothing new beneath the sun.

Candee: 8:49

So, while we may feel far removed from God's love, it is there if we stop, if we are still, if we listen with our heart, if we breathe with Him. So, as you accompany Jesus into the desert in these next 40 days, strive to be His constant companion, as he strives to be your constant companion. Let your grief wash over the two of you. Let Him help you carry that burden. As you help Him carry His. Revere the mutuality of this journey, and may you come out the other side burnished. I'm Candee Lucas, your host, after-care coordinator, chaplain and spiritual director at Catholic Cemetery's at Gate of Heaven in Los Altos, California. Please contact us If you have questions or seek spiritual direction. Our contact information is in the show notes. Be gentle with yourselves.