Beginning this Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Lent, the Church enters into Passiontide, a season within the season. Rejuvenated by the readings and prayers of the 4th week of Lent, which draw our attention to the prophesied promises that Christ would fulfill in his Resurrection, the Church now turns with greater intensity to the Passion.
This is the time when Jesus and the disciples were entering into Jerusalem daily. Alongside the miracles he continued to perform, we hear more and more how the Jews were set to arrest him and desired to put him to death. Given Peter’s warnings and complaints about going to Jerusalem, it is not hard for us to imagine that this was an increasingly dark time for the disciples. Not only out of fear, but as the days of the Passion grew closer, there was an increase of uncertainty about the future. Where before they had been confident that the Messiah had come to set them free and take David’s throne, as the fervor against our Lord increased, so did the doubts begin to rise that there would be a future. Scripture seems even more clear that they could not understand Jesus’ words about rising again on the third day. The threat, and even promise of the Son of Man’s death, veiled their understanding of what was going to happen.
Even the story of Lazarus’ sickness, sleep and resurrection, which the Fathers of the Church often called a mini-Gospel, could not open their eyes. Even though the Mystery sat next to them at table and taught them, their understanding became denser and denser.
During Passiontide, we enter this Hidden Mystery with the Disciples. We know what is coming, in both the death and resurrection of our Lord, yet we can’t fully understand and realize what is truly happening.
Veiling the statues and crosses during this time is a visible, and even tangible way of signifying this entry. Recalling that the most valuable things are veiled—in this case, the resurrection of the Saints and the Holy Cross. Also recognizing that even for us, the Mystery of the Passion remains—we do not fully understand the suffering that he endured, nor how it has one redemption for us. The veiling also symbolizes the darkness that our sins pull us into. When we cannot see the signs of our Lord’s presence, or his victory, it should direct us toward acts of penance and a sorrowful heart, sorrow for anything that we have done that may have furthered our separation from Him, and for having grieved our Father.
Perhaps most importantly, the veiling of the Mystery, that Hidden Mystery, should inspire us to look harder and more intently so that we can discover what lies behind the veil.