We sat down with Father Chumo for a Lenten conversation about suffering and hope…

The goal of our conversation is to acknowledge the bad experiences of a global magnitude. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit all peoples, cultures, and classes, and the poor have been hit hard. 

This is a question in people’s minds.  There are all levels of suffering—spiritual, social, economic, emotional, physical affecting us all right now.  Besides the pandemic there are added catastrophes—blizzards, severe cold, people with no electricity or water.  We say it’s like scratching healing wounds. 

First of all, we are finite creatures, subject to anything that affects living creatures, and we don’t have the power to overcome suffering. God alone can eliminate suffering through Christ. Jesus the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world and he did that through suffering on the cross.  We must turn our eyes and hearts toward Jesus. He alone is the answer to what afflicts humanity.

We can minimize the effects of suffering if we pull together.  We have scientists who work on technology and medical breakthroughs, philanthropists who have compassion, organizations that are moved to help, good governments that take care of people.

It’s a puzzle.  God never intended us to suffer. All he created was good. Suffering came as a result of sin, specifically the fall of our first parents. We have to follow Jesus and his approach in addressing human suffering.  When asked, Jesus never explained why suffering exists, he only responded with mercy and compassion to human suffering. Jesus immersed himself in the  heart of human situation with all of its complexities.  He was never aloof, and he went beyond what he did in life, he died for us. 

Never underestimate the power of prayer to transform suffering.  Through prayer we gain the power of Christ and his generosity, the power to stand in solidarity with those suffering, to share the warmth and comfort of His love and compassion. In John (16:20) Jesus says,

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

This is what Easter promises. This is where our hope lies. We can rely on the words of Scripture for hope in the face of suffering.  We must remain confident:

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:13-14). 

No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

The role of the Christian community is to comfort those afflicted.  St. Paul puts it very clearly:

Let us give thanks to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father the God from whom all helps comes! He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles using the help that we ourselves have received from God. Just as we have a share in Christ’s many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God’s great help (1 Corinthians  1:3-5).

Jesus didn’t teach us to perform miracles, he taught us to love.  True love can work miracles  We respond to human suffering following the example of Christ. 

Our parish has not been paralyzed in this pandemic.  We have faith and a robust outreach.  We have been drawn to prayer and the participation in the care of our church.  Our church has been a refuge for those who want to meet Jesus in the face of suffering.  Parishioners have been faithful to the Lord, and to the pandemic guidelines and have been renewing their vitality each day.  They have responded so generously to goodness. They have given to those affected by the pandemic materially and financially—through the food pantry, the caring ministry, and the prayer chain.  The message is that suffering can be defeated if we pull together.  We can neutralize its sting.  Lent is the time to reflect on the suffering of Christ that brought us salvation, and to join Christ in his passion and emerge victorious. 

For those who have lost family/friends, take comfort  in the powerful intercession of Immaculate Mary and her spouse, Blessed Joseph. 

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you.  See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you, your walls are ever before me  (Isaiah 49:15-16).

We’re not yet through the pandemic, but we want to encourage you to continue praying to St. Joseph during Lent in this “Year of St. Joseph.”   It’s not just the sentiment of Fr. Chumo, but it echoes what all the parish feels and hopes.  Faithfulness to God is not an option during trying times. So many good things happened in the midst of the pandemic, we erected a shrine in the backyard, a place of comfort, solace and Mary’s love.  Thanks to the parishioners who helped in this endeavor. Let’s keep doing that which enhances hope. In the midst of the pandemic, it has never grown the worst of us. 

Our church is open daily, and more people are coming for prayer.  The church is open daily until 6:00 pm for private prayer and Stations of the Cross.

The Gospel starts with withdrawing to the mountain with three of his disciples; the same disciples who witnessed his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Whenever the great masters of that time wanted to reveal something important to their disciples, they used to withdraw to a remote place and there in secret, would reveal his teaching. What Jesus wanted to teach his disciples was extremely important. The high mountain stands for a place where God manifests himself. God spoke to Moses from the mountain. On the mountain He revealed Himself to Elijah, the very two persons we find in the Gospel. The white clothes are a manifestation of identity of Jesus. The white color symbolized the world of God and was a sign of joy and happiness. Elijah and Moses are great personalities of the Old Testament.

The story of the Transfiguration is at the Centre of Marks Gospel. The Disciples from the very beginning had begun asking themselves who Jesus was. Their ideas were still very confused. Like the rest of the people, they expected a glorious messiah. Peter who suggests that they make tents was convinced that with the messiah coming, it was no longer necessary to die. They did not know yet that the only way to glory is the way of the cross that leads to the resurrection.

The driving of the traders from the temple is related in all four gospels and this underlines the importance the writers attached to it. The gospel shows us Jesus arriving at the temple at the time of the Easter feast. We do not know what he felt when he saw what was going on, but we can understand what his feelings may have been. He does not say a word. He only ties together pieces of rope to bind the animals and then begins to force everyone out. We are surprised. We should never have thought him capable of such violence. We have always thought of him as calm and peaceful. What does it mean?

He reminds his listeners of Zachariah’s prophecy that when the Messiah comes there will be no traders in the temple of Yahweh. By purifying the temple of traders, Jesus declares that the kingdom of the Messiah has begun and he condemns every combination and confusion between religion and economic interests. Religion is often used to hide things that have nothing to do with the gospel. The existence of such since must not be denied. We as Christians should aim to be irreproachable on this point, otherwise the point we are trying to bring will lose credibility.

Secondly, Jesus says “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” He is now speaking of a new temple and a beginning of a new cult. He was speaking of his body, a temple that will be built in three days– that is the Easter story. Everything Jesus did was pointing to the great event of Easter.