In March 2020 The Harvard Business Review in an article titled That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief quoted their staff’s discussion on the pandemic: “The loss of normalcy; the fear of economic toll; the loss of connection. This is hitting us and we’re grieving. Collectively. We are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air. . .” And the world has lived it for over a year. It takes tremendous energy to repress, deny and avoid grief – and being controlled by it deadens our spirit.
We are all familiar with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. David Kessler who worked and co-authored with Kubler-Ross has added a sixth stage: finding meaning.
Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus our God empathizes and saves us from paralyzing fear and anxiety in the face of life’s emptiness – not by taking away grief, but by giving meaning to it. Come and reflect with us on this treasure of our faith.
This is a one hour presentation (approximately 40 minutes of presentation and 20 minutes of question-and-answer).
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:
Father Larry Lewis, M.M., ordained a Maryknoll priest in 1975, served in Taiwan and China. For 20 years he coordinated an education project for Chinese church personnel to better serve their home dioceses. He served as Rector of Maryknoll and in their Personnel Office. He’s offered retreats throughout China and for four years was on the staff of the Cenacle Retreat Center, Ronkonkoma, NY offering retreats and spiritual direction. He holds an MA in pastoral counseling from St. Paul’s, Ottawa and a Ph.D. in spirituality from Duquesne. He authored The Misfit – Haunting the Human/Unveiling the Divine.
(Cover Image by Janet Bothne, “Distance As a Verb” (2020). 8” x 24” acrylic on canvas – triptych (3 panels). Used with permission by © Janet Bothne 2020)
