Four Hundred Days of Lent

Today, it is 400 days since Ash Wednesday of 2020. Your normal Lent is forty days, but this past year with its Plague and its lockdowns and its social distancing was anything but normal. The festivities of Holy Week happened on television and, it seemed, happened to other people. In the midst of our Lenten desert, Easter was a mirage that never quite arrived.

During the last few days of Lent, the Matins readings are from the Prophet Jeremiah. These readings have never hit me harder than this year. They speak of the destruction of Jerusalem and the bondage of her people. The situation is not remotely the same as ours, of course, but the lamentations resound in my ears.

How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every field wither?

(Jeremiah 12:4)

We gave up so much during this year. The imposed fast from the sacraments was particularly difficult. There was a period of more than six months where I did not receive the Eucharist, something that I had never experienced before as a Catholic. It is through the sacraments that Jesus continues his saving work in the world, and I had lost that connection to the Lord. I longed for what those in centuries past called their “Easter duty”.

In a sense, I longed for Easter.

But now, Easter is coming. Churches are open at 50% capacity in Washington State, and folks can attend the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum. Our long, lonely Lent is coming at last to its end.

And Christ of course was always present to us. Although I longed for His sacramental presence, Jesus is God, after all – the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He’s never far from you if you call.

I’m thankful we have our little home chapel, which has been under more or less constant construction for the last decade. Early in the Time of COVID I had finally installed the insulation and the interior walls. The finished floor and trim are still to come, but it is useable. And I have been making use of it.

I’ve been praying Vespers there most every night, and these past forty days, I’ve been joined by my beautiful bride Francine. It has been such a consolation to me in these days. It is quiet (neighbours permitting) and cool and serene.

It has helped keep me sane and close the Lord in this longest and Lentiest of Lents. And it has reminded me on a daily basis that my sufferings are as nothing to the Cross, but that my sufferings – joined to His – may perfect the sufferings of Christ on the Cross (cf. Colossians 1:24).

I’m mindful of those for whom, for whatever reason, this long Lent continues still. Join me in praying for the wounded, the lost, and the suffering in this time. And if you’re part of that group, know that we are praying for you. Though it’s sometimes difficult to remember in the midst of darkness, know that the dawn is coming.

Easter is coming.