Dear ones,

These are days unlike any we have ever known. All around the world we are deep in the midst of an unprecedented “Great Pause.” All around us, a way is being made clear for all of Creation to focus on our breathing. The air we breathe is clearing. God’s creatures great and small are coming out into the opened spaces of our lives as the season of spring sweeps over us all.

And yet, the fear of a novel virus is sweeping over us all too. So very many people are struggling to breathe due to illness and economic fears. Our global focus has suddenly turned toward caring for each other, burying the dead, and proclaiming Good News in new ways. Indeed we are all connected, at least as much as we can or want to be.

Thanks be to God, legions of good neighbors are discovering how much this “Great Pause” has opened up new ways to breathe in the beauty of life and God’s love for us all. So many faithful people are answering the Holy Spirit’s stirring call to generously share our gifts with those who are in great need of love and nurture. Innovation is spreading like a virus too as we find new ways to communicate and care for each other.

As Easter people, we believe that the seeds of healing and hope have already been planted in the midst of death. Indeed, we believe that Jesus Christ is Risen and new life planted within us will surely rise up out of these days of uncertainty. What a blessing the uncertainties of life can be, as our unknowing opens new pathways for more fruitful days ahead.

In many ways this is also how we experience Holy Saturday, the liminal space of time between Holy Week and Eastertide. We’re at the tipping point between the Way of the Cross and the Way of Love. This is our time to pause and remember to just breathe. Fear not, we can trust God is good, all the time.

Oh, how we long to pray and sing together again, face to face. We will be together again in the fullness of time. Always, we celebrate our Oneness in Christ, joining with each other and with all the company of heaven, singing our joyful songs again and again, “Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia!”

Happy Easter!

Love to All,

Maria+

“I stand in the midst of these dark times to make a profession of faith. I believe in the light. I believe in the return of the light. I have believed in this all of my life and I will go on believing it until the day I cross over to be with my ancestors. I am a witness to the truth that no darkness, no illness, no death can overcome the light of life and love that exists within each one of us. The Spirit sleeps within us. Life is within us. Love is within us. No darkness will contain that power, not even the darkness of the tomb. Hold on to what you believe, trust what is within you, and then wait quietly for the stars to begin to sing.”