Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Maybe it’s been a “great” Lent for you; you ticked all the boxes you wanted ticked, did all you had hoped when it came to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Congratulations!
Or maybe it was less than great. Maybe those pledges you made to yourself and the Lord fell by the wayside like so many Lenten promises and New Year’s resolutions have. Maybe you’re feeling like a lousy Catholic, a lousy Christian, a lousy mother, husband, daughter, brother, coworker, neighbor, friend.
As challenging or easy as we’ve found the past six weeks, they are drawing to a close. And soon, we will be reminded of the humanity of most of those who surrounded Jesus during His 
public ministry. Their spiritual runups to the Last Supper may have varied as much as our Lenten journeys do. After all, they quarreled about who was the best and jockeyed for position. They despaired in situations where the faith of a mustard seed would have sprouted into faith and trust. They deserted and denied Him when the going got tough. And those questions, all those questions, from the time He invited them to come and see, right through His earthly end.
“Where are you going?” the ever-literal Peter asks when Jesus says he’ll be leaving and that they won’t be able to join Him right away. Imagine it: being with Him daily for three years, only to be told, to quote from a Jesus musical of the day, “It was nice, but now it’s gone.” Where would they go, if not with Him? What would become of them without Him?
And regardless of whether it’s been a great Lent or otherwise, we are now in that time that the past six weeks don’t really matter. He’s going away, and all our sacrifices and giving don’t seem to matter. Where is He going, indeed? And how can we keep Him by our side?
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