Melancholy

The Art Institute of Chicago

Odilon Redon, 1876

The past year has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination.  And so, we arrive at yet another Holy Saturday from within our own tombs.  And for so many, we are even deeper in than last year.  Grief, illness, despair, conflict, loneliness, isolation, loss, instability, fear and anxiety have kept us all in their grip it seems endlessly.

But soon the sun shall rise; soon we will witness the stone rolled away; soon the joyful end will be and we will once again be safe and blessed in the purest joy of the Easter Truth.  

Dear Divine One, as Mary finally did that morning in the garden, may we too have eyes and hearts to recognize You even though we may be blinded with tears and downcast in countenance and soul. This long Lenten struggle is coming to a close and we are nearing its end.  Let us find stillness, solace and hope in these final moments and in the journey traveled, and bear patiently, trusting the Lord who is indeed on our side, and await patiently the light that is to come.   

“Be Still My Soul”, Melody Joy Cloud

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to thy God to order and provide;
in ev’ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice, who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the veil of tears,
then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
from His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Written by Catharina von Schlegel, 1752

Translated by Jane Laurie Borthwick, 1855

Music from Finlandia, Jean Sibelius

Shared by Karla Hendrick