We don’t often admit the tough stuff. We cover it up to get through the day, not out of deceit but for everyone’s good. When people ask “how are you?”, it’s not the time to say I’m sad, I’m confused. There are things to be done, so we put pain aside. But what if we never find a home for those broken bits that we carry around?

Faith offers a place for brokenness and pain to go. The celebration of the Triduum leads us through the empty spaces. It’s OK to name them. We can drop the act and admit life is hard and Jesus replies I know. We can say loss is brutal and his blessed mother replies tell me about it.

Jesus is with us during our agonies, our sufferings, all the way into the tomb. When I was younger and heard him say stay with me it seemed like a challenge, but now it feels like an invitation. Stay with me here in the dark as long as you need to. Bring your sadness with you too. When you’re ready to unlock another room in your heart I will be there to join you in it. Even in the spaces that look empty I am never far.

All the empty spaces lead to an empty tomb, but the path there is honored just as much as the final triumph.