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Night Gives Way to Dawn

[caption id="attachment_4632" align="alignright" width="200"] Blog by Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP[/caption] Recently, I was asked to contribute to an LCWR booklet, reflecting on the work of Chris Pramuk, a keynote speaker at the August Assembly last year. His address was so compelling, you might remember that we used the DVD of his presentation for reflection at last Fall’s mission group meetings.  I want to share with you now the reflection I prepared. It anticipates the Pascal Mysteries we celebrate in Holy Week and Easter.  Soon we will hear all the stories of our redemption once again.

Night Gives Way to Dawn "To lean into the mystery of resurrection faith like the mothers [of the disappeared] do—like the women at the empty tomb—is to follow our deepest intuition, as night gives way to dawn, that life reverberates beyond death, and that love will endure beyond any earthly power to extinguish it." -- Christopher Pramuk, Night Gives Way To Dawn

After that long and horrible day, we returned home in the hope that we might comprehend what happened that Good Friday. The following day, we gathered in my kitchen to see what was needed and how we might still serve Him. We wanted something warm to eat and a cup of wine to take away a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. His mother was numb with grief and I hardly knew what to say to her.  No words could capture this devastation, as we watched her sit quietly, alone in the room. Nothing was ready for an unexpected burial, we needed time to think, reflect, and plan a funeral. When we arrived at the tomb, the angel startled us.  She stared at us as if we should have known all along that Love will endure beyond any earthly power. As if we should have known that night gives way to dawn. Perfumes and spices we did not need and it became clear to us that love was not overpowered by hate. His followers could hardly hear us as we tried to voice what we saw. We were speaking as if to the deaf, so deeply had their grief hardened their souls. “He lives”, the angel told us.  “He lives”, we told them all. We did not find a death. We did not find a death. We awoke to Dawn. Awoke to dawn.

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