Lent with WTC: From Seed to Tree (the grove)
Apr 18, 2025Good Friday: The Grove of Grief
Reflection Point:
“Grief and love are sisters, woven together from the beginning. Their kinship reminds us that every loss echoes the depths of our capacity to care.”
—Francis Weller
Scripture:
“He was despised and rejected by others,
a man of suffering and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)
“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed...” (Matthew 26:39)
Wisdom from a Mystic:
“Live in faith and hope, even though it be in darkness, since in this darkness it is God who supports the soul. Cast your care on God, since he has care of you. He won’t forget you...”
-John of the Cross, Letter 20
Reflection:
Even the forest holds shadowed groves. Good Friday is the sacred pause in the place of pain, the garden of Gethsemane, the hill of the skull. Yet it is not the end. In this grove of grief, roots go deeper. Death and life are holding hands beneath the surface.
What within you needs to be named in sorrow today? What grief have you been carrying alone?
Practice:
Create a prayer to the Sacred from your place of grief. Use tears, silence, art, or earth. Let your expression be honest.
Fasting:
What masks do you wear to hide your pain? Lay them down in the grove.
Giving:
What comfort can you offer the world from the depth of your own ache?
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