But you, O LORD, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me. (Psalm 22:20)

Today we celebrate Palm/Passion Sunday and we experience the pain, sadness, abandonment, suffering, and death of Jesus in our Gospel reading.  We may feel like we’re going through the “Lentiest” Lent ever and our own Passion as we’ve spent nearly half of our Lent alone in the desert of our homes and we are facing some struggles that we never thought imaginable.  But, even though Jesus was abandoned by his friends, he had God the Father with him!  Even though we can’t see and touch the ones we love, we too, have God with us!  We simply need to call upon God and we will receive the courage, strength, compassion, kindness, mercy, and love that we need to make it through our current struggles!  And, in what will be much longer than 3 days in the tomb of quarantine, we will rise again and be free to spread our love and joy to our family, our friends, our communities, our customers, our neighbors, our enemies...and to all!  God was with Jesus and God is with us!  Jesus rose from the grave and we will symbolically rise from our homes soon and our bodies and souls will rise to Heaven because of the help of our God!  Call on God, my sisters and brothers in Christ, and all will be well!  Amen!