Joy When It Is Raining

Do you enjoy rain? Some people really like it when it rains, and others say it makes them sad. Today is Holy Saturday and it is raining outside--is that uplifting or depressing? Those dark clouds and gloomy skies do not usually encourage joy. I do not know anyone who will deny that a gentle rain is calming; for me, even a heavy rainstorm will put me to sleep quicker. I find it very soothing and peaceful. Have you ever noticed how often it is raining at funerals in movies? There is the presumption that rain is sad.

When I try to think about what the Apostles went through on that last Jewish Sabbath day before the resurrection, I imagine that it was quite depressing (whether it rained or not) to sit and think about the death of Christ without realizing He was going to raise from the dead the next day (remember, it did surprise all the Apostles). Was that, however, what everyone was thinking?

I also occasionally think about what the Blessed Virgin went through on that day. Did she think of, or maybe even sing, Psalm 16? We are told there that we can hope in God after death. It says,

For thou dost not give me up to Sheol [the place of the dead], or let thy godly one see the Pit. Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

While rain may be sad, there are ways in which it can bring peace. In the same manner, although death is sad, there are ways in which we can find hope in it, because God does not leave His faithful people there. Psalm 16 speaks prophetically of Christ and His resurrection (cf. Acts 2:22-31). It is Scriptures like this that the heart of one who is faithful to God will run to when someone dies. We are not to find joy in death itself, but when we ponder the power of God and His promises, then we are enabled to find hope.

So, while it seems that the Apostles spent the day in sadness, there may very well have been a different perspective in the heart of Mother Mary. I can see her, while saddened at how Jesus suffered, having a slight smile on her face, with the thought in her mind, "God is going to do something wonderful and it will be greater than any of us imagine". That is the heart of faith that trusts in God in all things. Look to the Mother of all the faithful for the example of how to stay confident in the worst of circumstances, and you will find that you can then see the grace of God more clearly.