Coffee With God

Reflection: The Liturgy of the Church wanted to make this day a time of silence, of meditation, of welcoming into our hearts the mystery of Jesus who died and who would rise again. Hence there is no celebration of the Eucharist today nor there is a Gospel for reflection! What we have is the Easter Vigil – which is already part of the celebration of Easter and we still have time to reflect on the Easter The term ‘vigil’ refers to waiting… in anticipation of something to happen… waiting for the birth of a child; keeping watch of a dear one who is dying. But… Waiting is the last thing we want to talk about. We are living in a world of 5G internet connectivity, and instant coffee and instant noodles… We grow impatient even when internet signals is weak! Our age is characterized by impatience. We rush about our lives refusing to ever wait for things. Holy Saturday teaches us of the value of patience and waiting. Imagine that Sabbath morning after a brutal killing during the Passover in Jerusalem. It appeared like a lost battle. As far as the disciples were concerned, there was nothing to hope for and no one to wait for. In spite of this hopelessness, there was someone who anticipated something big to happen after that horrifying Friday – that was the Blessed Mother. She must have been sure that the life of the Son of God would not end on the Cross nor would it disappear in a tomb. She knew for sure that there would be an Easter and all she had to do was to patiently wait. This one day must have been the longest day in the life of Mary – in waiting. We don’t see her running to the tomb with the rest of the women on Easter Morning. On the Holy Saturday, the Blessed Mother brings us the most important message for us: Be patient, It is just the beginning and not the end. How fast do we plunge into anxiety and despair when tragedies strike us? When faced with failures in life or rejection from family and people whom we considered most important to us? We look for immediate answers for our prayers and demand instant results. Remember the famous prayer: “Lord give me patience and give it to me right now!” Let us be patient, the Lord hasn’t finished with us yet!