John 20:1-9
It can be hard to identify with Mary and the disciples
when we listen to the Easter story because we know the ending: we know
that Jesus has risen! At this point in the story Mary seems angry,
distraught, confused. All of us can identify with these feelings when we go through dark times in our lives. And often it needs the support and understanding of others for our despair to turn into hope.
The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Mbala, Zambia, often meet people who have lost everything including their money and homes, looking for someone who will ‘cure’ them of their HIV.
Sister Yvonne says: “Once they’ve exhausted everything and they are very sick – they’ve no energy or strength – then they are taken to the hospitals and most of the time this is when we come into contact with them, at the point when they are really ill and have lost everything.
“So we support them in that state, then we will provide medication, counselling, and once they are healthier, then there is that great need to support with a livelihood to bring them back to where they were.”
The Sisters are there to meet those who are despairing and to walk with them on their transformational journey of body, mind and spirit; a journey from near-death to life in its fullness.