A sense of solemn, sadness, creeping, lingering despair. Unknown, lonely, unsure how to feel, what actions next to take.

Considering Jesus’ friends after he was killed, they must have felt all these things. He was gone. All that had become was now lost.

For me this is a time for two purposes. First, to consider the necessary pain and suffering and brutality of The Passion. I struggle still after all these years to understand that it had to be this way.

The “Why” leads me to the second purpose of this day, to tie God’s very gift and lesson to this struggle. As Francis shared this past week, this time of despair is EXACTLY the time when God comes to us, t

he exact time Jesus stands beside us, wounded and seemingly broken, having gone through great suffering and death, to tell us darkness does not have the last word, that light will prevail, that we are not alone.

In the darkest time we must hope, find it, make it, whatever, but hold it tight. Hope will turn to light will turn to change, hope transcends the darkness,

Let it be so,

GOOD.