The Longest Lent: some thoughts for Palm Sunday 2020
“The Longest Day” was the title given by Cornelius Ryan to his documentary book on the Normandy Landings of 1944. It was later used for a film based on the same events. In the early eighties, Bob Hoskins starred in a gangster film entitled “The Long Good Friday”. I would suggest that the present situation deserves the title of “The Longest Lent”.
At the beginning of Lent, pondering on Our Lord’s call to take up the Cross, I suggested that, whatever penances we undertake as our way of sharing in the Cross, we will find that we have to carry a Cross not of our choosing, and that it is in the bearing of this Cross that we shall come closest to Jesus the Christ. Neither I nor, I suspect, anyone else, had any inkling at the time that this Lent would bring a Cross for the whole world; one which will almost certainly outlast the current Lenten season.
In terms of the liturgy, Lent will soon draw to a close. Easter will come, perhaps the strangest Easter in history. All over the world, priests will carry out some form of the Holy Week ceremonies without the presence of a congregation. Even the Pope will celebrate in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica and Square. This situation is unprecedented. Even in wartime, public worship continued: it is as if the entire world finds itself in the position of an underground Church.
Easter will arrive, but it will not interrupt the Lent, indeed the Passiontide, which the world is suffering. Or will it? Perhaps that is up to us. Even in this time of pain and darkness, we need to recall that Christ is risen, that suffering is temporary, that life has conquered, and will conquer, death. Our celebration of Easter will be more sombre than usual, but it will be genuine nonetheless as we are reminded once more that Christ has overcome all that is evil; that, whilst it is true that, “in the midst of life, we are in death”, it is even more true that, “in the midst of death, we are in life”. The Paschal Candle may be a solitary light this year, but it will burn, piercing the darkness, signalling to the world that the last word is not “death” but “victory”.
As the world continues its longest Lent, the light of Easter will burn in the hearts and lives of Christians, shining out for that world, and for all who suffer. Yet we must not be blasé: we must be conscious of the deep suffering all around us. It is all very well to speak of the opportunities for reflection and spiritual renewal, provided we do not forget the plight of families cooped up with children, wondering how they are to put food on the table. It is fine to consider the healing of the planet, less troubled for a time by the ravages of human industry and travel, but it would be unbearably smug to ignore the plight of those for whom this fallow time brings unemployment and loss of livelihood. Whilst the north of Italy is ravaged by the virus, in the south of that country the greater fear is of starvation, as money can neither be earned nor withdrawn from the closed banks, and the purchase of food becomes increasingly difficult.
All of us must take our share by prayer, by giving, by compassion, and by any practical means available, in the Passiontide of the world, but we must do so in the context of the suffering and death of the Lord—and of His resurrection!
