HOLY WEEK IN THE YEAR OF THE CORONA VIRUS

All of human civilization is sitting on the edge of its seat, as it were, holding its breath for a moment, waiting for the plague to pass us by, knowing that many will be left dead in its wake and wondering which of us will be taken.

In America, we are told that many of the Corona virus patients are dying "alone," which is just a type of shorthand for a complex situation. They're not really alone. Hospitals are packed with people: doctors and nurses are milling around, intently seeing to the medical needs of too many patients, and so, a lot of people are there, but we can't risk allowing contact between patients and their loved ones, because of the wildly contagious nature of this grim virus.

The labored transition between this world and the next is traversed solo, in a sorry little boat of failing flesh.

During his final week on earth Jesus first endured humiliating lies and taunts,  physical torments and the betrayals of those who supposedly loved him. Enveloped by a keening crowd that howled for his undeserved torture and death, He too was not permitted the comforting presence of loved ones focused on easing his pains. They were made to watch from a distance, as our relatives and friends are made to do.

A hospital is understandably chaotic during a pandemic, but the pandemonium of the events we remember as "holy week" were more terrible - more ghastly - because all of the activity around Jesus was geared toward accomplishing his death, not trying to save it - and the crowd in which he was enveloped were mostly jeering at Him.

Still, we can use the frightening specter of the possibility of our own impending demise to gain greater understanding of what Jesus endured than we might have otherwise had, if this year was not the year of the corona virus under the reign of a modern despot who cares more about his popularity among his minions than in doing what is right for mankind.

The Angel of Death

by

Evelyn de Morgan

Like the ruler who freed the criminal Barrabas, rather than the God man Jesus, Trump entertained and advertised false conspiracy theories about the virus, and hid January's internal reports that Covid-19 could be devastating to the people of our country. Instead, he alleged that the deadly nature of the virus was inflated by the Democrats to make him look bad. Then he claimed to have it entirely under his control. He lied about the number of cases in our country, the availability of testing, the expected duration, and every other fact that would contribute to our understanding of what we were facing and how to avoid being one of the casualties. Anyone who questions his "inconsistencies" is publicly excoriated and slandered to within an inch of their lives, in language that comes from the playgrounds of our youth. We all recognize it as the rhetoric of the schoolyard bully.

Now we find ourselves in this situation where we are finally up to speed on crucial information about the deadly reality of our situation, but way behind the curve when it comes to actions necessary to put the brakes on it. It has dawned slowly on our collective consciousness exactly what we are facing here.

There are still some Americans who believe that it is all a "Democrat hoax" and that it is "just like the flu," as the president has previously claimed. They're refusing to comply with social distancing recommendations and are currently making a big fuss about the churches cancelling Holy Week gatherings. Some of the same people keep telling us senior citizens that we should be willing to die so that the economy can thrive. The mere fact of being an older American means, to them, that we are worthless because most of us are not producing income, so we might as well die. Like their orange god, money is the most important thing to these folks, even though most of them claim to be Christian. But try to ignore them. The Lord will deal with them, in His own time.

Meanwhile, in addition to exercising caution with regard to our physical well being, we need to get our mental, emotional, and spiritual lives in order. For those who are not accustomed to living like hermits, this has hit them hard, but with typical human ingenuity, we have found many ways to come together on the internet and elsewhere, so that we are made to feel that we are not alone in this.

Skyping and Zooming and Facebook watch parties are springing up like electronic flowers on the interwebz landscape. Newscasters and late night news hosts are broadcasting from their attics and home offices. Neighbors are serenading us from their balconies. We are not going to take this lying down, so to speak, and it makes me smile just thinking about how really spunky we are. As someone who has become somewhat of an expert of making lemonade from lemons, I just love this trait of ours.


Even though we are not able to attend religious functions during the holiest month of the year (for several religious traditions), we can still apply this ingenuity to the spiritual realm. After all, it really IS an inside job, no matter what time of year it is or whether or not there is a plague stalking the land, ready to consume us all.

Granted, our current life situation is a lot more captivating than the normal mental noise we have to deal with, but I keep reminding myself (and I recommend this to you) that it is always the case that death surely awaits us in each of our futures. We do not know when it is our appointed time, and we are not often reminded so poignantly of that fact - but it IS a fact. Death awaits us all the time - not just in the time of a pandemic. This is why some Buddhist traditions recommend meditating upon death. It seems macabre to the uninitiated, but the Buddhists do have a point.

Last week, another neighbor of mine died. Mike, a strapping, tall, healthy looking man of about my age - mid-sixties to early seventies, was helping another neighbor get to the hospital the last time I saw him. The next thing I knew, someone was telling me that he has just died. One of his friends couldn't rouse him on the telephone. Another knocked at his door and there was no answer. His adult child tried to reach him, and left messages, with no response. In the middle of the night, he had died, alone in his apartment - not from the Covid-19 virus, but some disease he already had.

Whether we die in isolation in the hospital, or in our apartment in our sleep in the middle of the night, The Lord is the only one who can really accompany us on our final journey. It's a good idea to get to know him beforehand, otherwise it could be an uncomfortable ride, in the end.

Personally, I cannot claim to be ready to die. I am not sanguine about the prospect. Not at all. I am really enjoying life and, if I had my way, I would live ANOTHER 60 years, if I could. Life is really a wonderful gift, even if full of trauma and drama - even if it gives you PTSD and nightmares and poverty. The spark of life is such a gift. Consciousness itself is the gift.

Having lived as a hermit for the last 18 years or so, I am not at all disturbed by the social isolation with which most people have been saddled because of this virus. Consequently, I feel I have something to offer in this regard, and if any of my readers are having a hard time coping with the isolation, or this situation in general I extend to you the invitation to contact me and I may be able to help encourage you through it. I have a Facebook page that is easy to find, and you can always leave a comment on this blog.

If you are having a hard time coping with the pandemic news, the first thing I would tell you is to curate your news consumption very carefully. Decide the maximum amount of time you can watch or read it before you get anxious, then make sure that you limit yourself to HALF of that amount of time or pages.

The next thing I would recommend is to avoid watching Donald Trump's so-called "press conferences." He routinely pushes advice contrary to what the medical professionals are recommending, so nothing good can come of watching him. And who needs to listen to his inappropriate and constant name-calling of the journalists who are asking him legitimate questions on your behalf? It will just upset you and confuse the issues.

Listen to the medical professionals like Dr. Anthony Fauci and other doctors with experience in epidemics and pandemics, stay socially isolated, wash your hands frequently and efficiently, and do whatever else the experts say to do. Don't listen to ancillary non-experts who are just trying to get time on camera, and don't get distracted by Trump's smoke and mirrors. He could have done something to ameliorate this pandemic early on, but he chose to hide crucial information and then lied about it later. So just ignore him. He will get his comeuppance later. [UPDATE, OCTOBER 5, 2020: A few days ago, he and Melania tested positive for Covid. Many of his close staffers ALSO have it. More are expected to come down with it because none of them have been following the guidelines.]

In the meantime, I am praying for all of you, in general, and for specific people who have asked me to include their name in my prayers. To the extent I am able to include you in my meditative journey, I do that, as well.

May God bless you all and keep you safe, and I hope to continue to "see" all of you through this emergency.

Yours in the Lord,

Silver Rose
"Kaliprana"