(as we face the pandemic of 2020)
Snowflakes awaken timid spring daffodils
Oh, bring them in to adorn our table,
To brighten our dreary souls!
We need a spark of Easter light
More than ever these dark days
Of seeking new life on our Lenten journey
Trampled by fear of a ravaging illness.
May we find you in the unknown
In these new ways of trust and hope: No embraces, human touch, or closeness.
How long, O Lord?
Contemplative moments slide into hours, days of possibilities
Of imagining long-distance care shared with those in need.
The gift of time is dropped into my lap
Strength to fight loneliness, ignorance, discouragement.
Reason to forgive and to be forgiven.
May our “pent-up spiritual joy…burst forth in the anticipation of the Easter joy to come.” (Virgil Michel, OSB)
~Sister Francine Koehler, SSND