This is a time of lament. Many have lost lives and livelihoods. Jesus gave voice to such despair most poignantly on the cross when he cried out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, the opening words of Psalm 22.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to much suffering, hardship and anxiety, but it has also been a time of reawakening and rebirth. This is what Easter is all about. Lent, traditionally a time of fasting which prepares Christians for the new life and joy of Easter Sunday, offers rich insights into the solitude and privations imposed on us by the virus.