Newsletter 35 PDF SPAGNOLO
APRIL 2017
EASTER: JOYFUL SERVANTS OF HOPE
“Peter ran to the tomb” (Lk 24:12). What thoughts crossed Peter’s mind and stirred his heart as he ran to the tomb? The Gospel tells us that the eleven, including Peter, had not believed the testimony of the women, their Easter proclamation. Quite the contrary, “these words seemed to them an idle tale” (v. 11). Thus there was doubt in Peter’s heart, together with many other worries: sadness at the death of the beloved Master and disillusionment for having denied him three times during his Passion.
There is, however, something which signals a change in him: after listening to the women and refusing to believe them, “Peter rose” (v. 12). He did not remain sedentary, in thought; he did not stay at home as the others did. He did not succumb to the sombre atmosphere of those days, nor was he overwhelmed by his doubts. He was not consumed by remorse, fear or the continuous gossip that leads nowhere. He was looking for Jesus, not himself. He preferred the path of encounter and trust. And so, he got up, just as he was, and ran towards the tomb from where he would return “amazed” (v. 12). This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. Without giving in to sadness or darkness, he made room for hope: he allowed the light of God to enter into his heart, without smothering it.
The women too, who had gone out early in the morning to perform a work of mercy, taking the perfumed ointments to the tomb, had the same experience. They were “frightened and bowed their faces”, and yet they were deeply affected by the words of the angel: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (v. 5).
We, like Peter and the women, cannot discover life by being sad, bereft of hope. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but let us break open our sealed tombs to the Lord – each of us knows what they are – so that he may enter and grant us life. Let us give him the stones of our rancour and the boulders of our past, those heavy burdens of our weaknesses and falls. Christ wants to come and take us by the hand to bring us out of our anguish. This is the first stone to be moved aside this night: the lack of hope which imprisons us within ourselves. May the Lord free us from this trap, from being Christians without hope, who live as if the Lord were not risen, as if our problems were the centre of our lives.
We see and will continue to see problems both within and without. They will always be there. But tonight it is important to shed the light of the Risen Lord upon our problems, and in a certain sense, to “evangelize” them. To evangelize our problems. Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control us; we must cry out to them: the Lord “is not here, but has risen!” (v. 6). He is our greatest joy; he is always at our side and will never let us down.
This is the foundation of our hope, which is not mere optimism, nor a psychological attitude or desire to be courageous. Christian hope is a gift that God gives us if we come out of ourselves and open our hearts to him. This hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5). The Paraclete does not make everything look appealing. He does not remove evil with a magic wand. But he pours into us the vitality of life, which is not the absence of problems, but the certainty of being loved and always forgiven by Christ, who for us has conquered sin, conquered death and conquered fear. Today is the celebration of our hope, the celebration of this truth: nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from his love (cf. Rom 8:39).
The Lord is alive and wants to be sought among the living. After having found him, each person is sent out by him to announce the Easter message, to awaken and resurrect hope in hearts burdened by sadness, in those who struggle to find meaning in life. There is so necessary today. However, we must not proclaim ourselves. Rather, as joyful servants of hope, we must announce the Risen One by our lives and by our love; otherwise we will be only an international organization full of followers and good rules, yet incapable of offering the hope for which the world longs.
How can we strengthen our hope? The liturgy of this night offers some guidance. It teaches us to remember the works of God. The readings describe God’s faithfulness, the history of his love towards us. The living word of God is able to involve us in this history of love, nourishing our hope and renewing our joy. The Gospel also reminds us of this: in order to kindle hope in the hearts of the women, the angel tells them: “Remember what [Jesus] told you” (v. 6). Remember the words of Jesus, remember all that he has done in our lives. Let us not forget his words and his works, otherwise we will lose hope and become “hopeless” Christians. Let us instead remember the Lord, his goodness and his life-giving words which have touched us. Let us remember them and make them ours, to be sentinels of the morning who know how to help others see the signs of the Risen Lord.
EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Vatican Basilica – Holy Saturday, 26 March 2016
THE APPOINTMENT OF CAMILLIAN MAJOR SUPERIORS 2017-2020
Leocir Pessini, the Superior General, with the agreement of the members of the General Consulta, after consulting the religious of the Provinces and Vice-Provinces of the Order, on 10 April 2017, appointed, for the three-year period 2017-2020:
AYITE Guy- Gervais – Vice-Provincial Superior of the Vice-Province of Benin-Togo
BERMEJO José Carlos– Delegate General for the Province of Spain
ELLICKAL Baby Scaria – Provincial Superior of the Province of India
ELOJA José Pacheco – Provincial Superior of the Province of the Philippines
FREITAS Antonio Mendes – Provincial Superior of the Province of Brazil
KABORE Gaétan – Provincial Superior of the Province of Burkina Faso
GYÖRGY Alfred – Delegate General for the Province of Austria
JÖRG Gabriel – Provincial Superior of the Province of Germany
MARZANO Antonio – Provincial Superior of the Province of Rome
MAURIELLO Rosario – Provincial Superior of the Province of Sicily and Naples
NESPOLI Bruno – Provincial Superior of the Province of North Italy
RIQUET Michel – Delegate General for the Province of France
SRIPRASERT Rocco Pairat – Provincial Superior of the Province of Thailand
ZWAJNOCH Mirosław – Provincial Superior of the Province of Poland
TAIWAN
10 March. We here share some pictures of the Camillian centre for disabled people where its young people are daily involved in tending to the flowers. This activity seeks to remind people of the idea that these children, albeit with all their limitations, are like buds waiting to open: a good atmosphere is needed – assured by the educators and volunteers – to facilitate their openness to life.
14-16 March. Some Camillian religious made their periodic visit to our Camillian ministerial activities in China with some experts in order to assess the quality of work and to make some suggestions to the two religious who work in this institution, above all as regards the service for the elderly.
19-22 March. Fr. Giuseppe Didonè and Fr. Giancarlo Michelini paid a visit to Fr. Luigi Galvani of the Camillian Delegation of Indonesia. They were struck by the large number of vocations and Catholic institutions that have been established on the Island of Flores.
THE LAY CAMILLIAN FAMILY
The Central Committee of the Lay Camillian Family will meet in Ireland on 27 April to 2 May 2017. Fr. Laurent Zoungrana, the General Assistant of the LCF, will also be present.
FCL – MILANO
Saturday, April 1, 2017, the Lay Camillian Family – group of Milan (Italy) – stayed together for a formative meeting … to Easter. Rosabianca Carpene proposed a reflection entitled: “The centrality of Jesus Christ in camillian spirituality”.
We will also share with you. SCARICA QUI IL TESTO
FCL-BRAZIL
On 18-19 March a meeting was held in San Paolo, Brazil, of the Lay Camillian Family of Brazil to elect the new leadership.
The assembly made up of thirty members elected the following:
President: Deisi Cantu Paganini (Iomerê- SC)
Vice-President: Moacir Balbinot (Iomerê – SC)
Secretary: Claudia Regina Gomes (Carapicuiba – SP)
Financial Administrator: Silvio PaganinBr.i (Pinhais – PR)
FCL DI MILWAUKEE – USA
Ten new members have joined the LCF of Milwaukee, USA. This photograph was taken in the St. Camillus Chapel of the Campus.
BRAZIL
Pictures of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the perpetual religious profession of Br. Vicente de Paula Nougueira.
The Holy Mass was presided over by the Provincial Superior Fr. Antonio Medes Freitas at the chapel of the St. Camillus seminary of Lagoa Redonda, and was concelebrated with three religious of the community of Fortaleza.
THE UKRAINE
For eleven years Fr. Arnaldo Pangrazzi has been going regularly to the Ukraine to hold courses in various cities of the country. The targets of these meetings are medical doctors, people taking the master’s degree in bioethics at the Catholic University of Lviv, health-care workers who provide palliative care, chaplains, pharmacists, and theology students of the Holy Spirit Seminary of Lviv. 225 seminarians of the Greek Catholic Church study at this seminary; a certain number of representatives of the Ukrainian Church have been awarded a licence in the theology of pastoral care in health by the Camillianum. Read here
PERÙ
On the liturgical feast day of the Annunciation – 25 March 2017 – the academic year of the seminary was inaugurated, with the participation of 3 aspirants, 2 postulants, 3 pre-novices, and 2 young men involved in the experience of external accompanying.
The Vice-Province of Peru has 2 novices, 5 professed, and two young men who are taking part in the year of pastoral care.
On 18 March the perpetual profession was celebrated of the young religious Arquimedes Ramos Zurita.
THE CONSTITUTION AND GENERAL STATUTES
Online you can find the translations into English, French and Polish of the original in Italian of our Constitution and General Statutes.
DOWNLOAD HERE THE PDF INGLESE
DOWNLOAD HERE THE PDF POLACCO
DOWNLOAD HERE THE PDF FRANCESE
THE PROVINCE OF INDIA
The convocation of the Upasana Indian Institute of Pastoral Health Theology for the diploma in pastoral health theology.
23 March 2017 witnessed the successful awarding of the first batch of Diplomas in Pastoral Health Theology (DPHT) of the Upasana Indian Institute of Pastoral Health Theology (UIIPHT) which began its existence with its launch and inauguration on 2 June 2016 and its affiliation to the Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bengaluru. Read here
The Asian Camillian Formators’ Meet was held at CPHC, Snehadan Campus, Bangaluru, India from 2nd to 4th March, 2017. The theme of the workshop was ‘Religious Formation: Relevance and its Challenges‘. REPORT
THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF CAMILLIAN PARISH PRIESTS
The third international meeting of Camillian parish priests and rectors will be celebrated in San Paolo, Brazil, on 19-23 April 2017.
The subject chosen for analysis and an exchange of views is ‘The Parish as a Setting for Communion (koinonia), Evangelisation (kerygma) and Mission (diakonia)’.
‘In a community gathered around Christ, we become Camillians, that is to say sent to engage in the same merciful mission as Jesus who called together and then sent out his disciples (cf. Lk 10:37). Each Camillian lives his being ‘sent’ for a mission, which is the very purpose of his personal vocation’.de
Presentation. This meeting will act as a forum in which Camillian parish priests and rectors and the lay people who work with them will be able to identify together best procedures and develop initiatives to create parishes and churches open to public worship administrated by Camillians as cradles of communion, evangelisation, mission and witness to the merciful love of Christ for the sick, the poor and the most vulnerable. The aim of this meeting is to develop a shared platform of Camillians who are parish priests or rectors, and lay people who work with them, in order to support and enrich this Camillian ministry in various contexts and realities.
Principal Objective. To draw up guidelines for Camillian ministry in parishes and churches open to public worship and provide a Camillian face to them and Camillian fervour.
The general government of the Order will be represented by Fr. Leocir Pessini, the Superior General; Fr. Aris Miranda, the member of the General Consulta responsible for Camillian ministry; and Fr. Gianfranco Lunardon, the rector of the ‘mother’ Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Campo Marzio, Rome.
CAMILLIANUM
Seminario Aprile 2017 – Medical Humanities
Le discipline umanistiche, indagando la complessità antropologica, contribuiscono alla pratica medica che ha il compito di curare la persona, di ristabilirne la salute in una dimensione relazionale nutrita di fiducia e speranza.
Il dibattito sulle Medical Humanities ha chiarito l’impossibilità di contrapporre il curare e il prendersi cura, l’efficacia dei trattamenti e la qualità relazionale.
CADIS – Haiti
Hurricane Matthew severely struck Haiti and continues to afflict the parts of the population that it devastated. We are working with Father Samuel Cuarto and the Delegation of Haiti in Ranja. Over the next few weeks teams of religious and lay people will alternate with each other in helping to rebuild houses and communities in one of the poorest and most afflicted areas of the region of Jeremie. READ THE ARTICLE HERE
CADIS – Perù
70,000 people have been struck by the constant and devastating landslides provoked by the endless rain that has afflicted Peru since January.
Thousands of displaced persons, over 250 health-care centres destroyed, and 54 schools devastated: these are numbers that only tell a part of what the Camillians in Peru are trying do by distributing health-care, food and medical kits, in particular in the area of Lima through Father Enrique Gonzales Carbajal, and through Father Marco Antonio Toscano in the more remote areas. READ THE ARTICLE HERE
A CAMILLIAN ICONOGRAPHIC CURIOSITY
Carlo Maratta, the author of the icon ‘Christ on the Crucifix Comforts Father Camillus’
When preparing for the ‘Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Transit of St. Fr. Camillus’ of 14 July 2014, and carrying out intense research in our archives after the rediscovery of evidence relating in particular to famous musical pieces performed in our churches, luck had it that I came across a little yellowed picture printed in Paris which bore the caption ‘Christ on the Crucifix Comforts Father Camillus’, with the following text ‘in calce’: ‘C. Maratti pinxit\A.W. Schulgen Edit du St Siege.\Paris 25 rue St. Sulpice’. READ HERE
UGANDA
Leocir PESSINI, Superior General of the Order of Ministers of the Sick (Camillians), with the consent of Consultors, admitted to the profession of solemn vows ACHILEO BISOBORWA, temporary professed religious of the Anglo-Irish Province – Delegation of Uganda.
THAI PROVINCE – DELEGATION OF VIETNAM
Fr. Leocir PESSINI, Superior General of the Order of Ministers of the Sick (Camillians), with the consent of Consultors, admitted to the profession of solemn vows Francis Xavier CAN TRAN DINH LONG e Joseph TRAN QUOC HUNG, temporary professed religious of Thai Province – Delegation of Vietnam.
«Our founders were moved by the Spirit and were not afraid to soil their hands with everyday life, with the problems of the people, courageously moving along the geographical and existential peripheries. They did not halt in the face of obstacles and the misunderstandings of others, because they kept in their heart the astonishment over the encounter with Christ. They did not tame the grace of the Gospel; they always had in their heart a healthy apprehension for the Lord, a heartrending desire to bring him to others, as Mary and Joseph did in the temple. We too are called today to make prophetic and courageous choices».
Pope Francis
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, XX world day of consecrated life
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
PROVINCIA DEL NORD ITALIA
Ordinazione presbiteriale di p. Nicola Docimo – Sabato 27 maggio alle ore 16 presso la Basilica di S.Anastasia a Verona. La celebrazione sarà presieduta da Sua Ecc.Mons. Giuseppe Zenti, Vescovo di Verona e sarà trasmessa in diretta su Telepace. P. Nicola presiederà le sue prima messe: domenica 28 maggio alle ore 10,30 presso la Parrocchia dei SS. Nazaro e Celso (Verona) e Domenica 4 giugno alle ore 10,30 presso la Parrocchia di S. Vincenzo Martire (San Vincenzo La Costa CS).
CONSACRATED LIFE
New Wine in New Wineskins. Consecrated Life Fifty Years after the Second Vatican Council and the Challenges that still Exist
On Wednesday 22 March of this year, at the auditorium of the Pontifical Urban University of Rome, the launch took place of the new document of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CIVCSVA): ‘New Wine in New Wineskins. Consecrated Life Fifty Years after the Second Vatican Council and the Challenges that still Exist’.
This new volume (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2017) contains the thoughts that emerged during the course of the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life that was held on 27-30 November 2014 and whose subject was ‘New Wine in New Wineskins. Consecrated Life Fifty Years after Lumen gentium and Pefectae caritatis’. Attention was paid to the journey undertaken by consecrated life since the Second Vatican Council and an attempt was made to engage in a summarising reading of the challenges that still exist.
These ‘Orientations’ are also the outcome of what emerged following the numerous meetings which, during the course ‘of the Year of Consecrated Life witnessed converge on Rome, at the See of Peter, consecrated women and men from every part of the world’ (page 7).
The Magisterium of the Church, starting with the Second Vatican Council, has always accompanied the lives of consecrated people through major coordinates of reference and values as well. One may think of ‘the Instructions Potissimum institutioni (1990), Fraternal Life in Community (1994), Starting Afresh from Christ (2002), The Service of Authority and Obedience, Faciem tuam (2008), and Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church (2015)’.
The objective of these orientations is also to engage in a survey of the fifty years that separate us from the Second Vatican Council; a pause to discern the quality and the ageing of the new wine produced by the long season of renewal after that Council and to assess the conformity and the coherence of institutional forms that are present in consecrated life.
SUGGESTIONI EDITORIALI
Bioética no século XXI. Anseios, receios e devaneios
Il superiore generale – p. Leocir Pessini – il confratello camilliano p. Christian de Paul de Barchifontaine e il prof. William Saad Hossne (in memoriam) ci offrono una rinnovata riflessione sugli interrogatici che la disciplina bioetica è chiamata ad affrontare nel mutato contesto antropologico del XXI secolo.
SUGGESTIONI MUSICALI
Io niente senza te: il nuovo disco di Padre Sergio Palumbo
Esce sabato 15 aprile il nuovo disco di P. Sergio Palumbo su iTunes e nei principali store digitali, dove sarà possibile acquistarlo
Un caldo appello al sentire: su questo insistente richiamo si fonda la definizione complessiva della musica di padre Sergio Palumbo, musica che sembra quasi distillare l’affollato turbinio del cuore in note e parole, per denunciare, dire e vincere l’inanità del vuoto; musica che si infiamma nell’ingorgo dell’anima, fortemente radicata nel vivere a contatto col dolore. LEGGI QUI L’ARTICOLO
TV2000 – THE STORY OF SAINT CAMILLUS
The programme broadcast by TV2000, ‘Life, Death and Miracles’, will dedicate a transmission to our Founder Saint. This programme will be broadcast on Saturday 22 April at 19.30.
CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE IN ITALY
Fr. Virginio Bebber, a Camillian religious from the Province of North Italy, has been elected the new President of ARIS.
Being a ‘glass house that looks beyond its own walls and into which everyone can look, transparent and going outwards, attentive to outskirts’. Promoting working in a network because nobody is an island. Further improving the formation of workers and always aiming at excellence. Making ARIS more visible in the fabric of Italian health care. These are the priorities and the commitments of Father Virginio Bebber who over recent day has been the new President of the Religious Association of Socio-Health-Care Institutes (ARIS) which brings together 235 Catholic health-care institutions that work in Italy.
AGENDA OF THE SUPERIOR GENERAL
On 19-24 April 2017, in San Paolo, the Superior General will take part in an international meeting of the heads of Camillian parishes and rectories.
On 28 April 2017, the Superior General will take part in the academic session organised by the Brazilian Society of Bioethics (San Paolo) for the launch of the book ‘Bioetica nel XXI secolo: desideri, paure e sogni ad occhi aperti’ (‘Bioethics in the Twenty-First Century: Wishes, Fears and Daydreams’) (San Paolo, Loyola, 2017). This work is edited by Fr. Leocir Pessini, the Superior General of the Order of Camillians, and by Fr. Christian Paul Barchifontaine. They are also the co-authors of some chapters in the book by Dr. William Saad Hossne (who died on 13 May 2016) who had previously been the coordinator of the bioethics programme of the Centro san Camillo University of San Paolo.
On 1-5 May 2017, in Bogota, the Superior General will take place in the meeting of the support group of the CELAM (the Bishops’ Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean) at the Camillian Centre for Humanisation and Pastoral Care in Health. Its purpose is the completion and revision of the handbook on pastoral care in health in the light of the recent documents of the Church and the Magisterium of Pope Francis. This handbook – Discepoli missionari nel mondo della salute (‘Disciples in the World of Health’) – is for the animation of pastoral care in health for the twenty-two Bishops’ Conferences of the continent of Latin America.
On 10 May 2017, in Bologna, the Superior General will take part in the nineteenth national meeting of directors of diocesan offices for pastoral care in health and associations and people who work in the same field, organised by the Bishops’ Conference of Italy. The subject of the meeting will be: ‘Proclaiming and Caring for the Sick: which Prophecy for Pastoral Care in Health?’.
DECEASED RELIGIOUS
«Ecco, ora svaniscono. I volti e i luoghi, con quella parte di noi che, come poteva, li amava, per rinnovarsi, trasfigurati, in un’altra trama!» (T.S. Eliot)
In the afternoon of Thursday, April 6, 2017, at our ‘S. Camillo’ hospital– Tarnowskie Góry (Poland), our Camillian Confrer br. Franciszek WIECZOREK (Polish Province) died.
Br. Franciszek was born on 16 dicember 1928. A few months ago he had celebrated 61 years of religious profession.
The funeral will be celebrated on April 11, 2017 in Zabrze – ‘S. Camillo’ parish (Poland).
He will be buried in our cemetery, in the park of the Tarnowskie Góry community.
R.I.P.
Le Suore Ministre degli Infermi di San Camillo comunicano la scomparsa della cara Sorella Sr. Damiana Fabbri, aveva 91 anni. Uniamoci in preghiera per il suo riposo eterno.
“Now they live in Christ whom they met in the Church, followed in their vocations, and served in the sick and the suffering. Trusting that the Lord, the Holy Virgin our Queen, St. Camillus and our deceased religious brothers will welcome them in their midst, we commend them in our prayers, remembering them with affection, esteem and gratitude”.
Happy Easter!
WAY OF THE CROSS AT THE COLOSSEUM
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Palatine Hill
Good Friday, 25 March 2016
O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you raised up in our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the hardened hearts of those who easily judge others, with hearts ready to condemn even to the point of stoning, without ever recognizing their own sins and faults.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in expressions of fundamentalism and in terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who wish to remove you from public places and exclude you from public life, in the name of a pagan laicism or that equality you yourself taught us.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the powerful and in arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters, and feed their children with bread drenched in blood.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in thieves and corrupt officials who, instead of safeguarding the common good and morals, sell themselves in the despicable market-place of immorality.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the foolish who build warehouses to store up treasures that perish, leaving Lazarus to die of hunger at their doorsteps.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the destroyers of our “common home”, who by their selfishness ruin the future of coming generations.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the elderly who have been abandoned by their families, in the disabled and in children starving and cast-off by our egotistical and hypocritical society.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anesthetized conscience.
O Cross of Christ, image of love without end and way of the Resurrection, today too we see you in noble and upright persons who do good without seeking praise or admiration from others.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in ministers who are faithful and humble, who illuminate the darkness of our lives like candles that burn freely in order to brighten the lives of the least among us.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of consecrated women and men – good Samaritans – who have left everything to bind up, in evangelical silence, the wounds of poverty and injustice.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the merciful who have found in mercy the greatest expression of justice and faith.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in simple men and women who live their faith joyfully day in and day out, in filial observance of your commandments.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the contrite, who in the depths of the misery of their sins, are able to cry out: Lord, remember me in your kingdom!
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the blessed and the saints who know how to cross the dark night of faith without ever losing trust in you and without claiming to understand your mysterious silence.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in families that live their vocation of married life in fidelity and fruitfulness.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in volunteers who generously assist those in need and the downtrodden.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those persecuted for their faith who, amid their suffering, continue to offer an authentic witness to Jesus and the Gospel.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who dream, those with the heart of a child, who work to make the world a better place, ever more human and just.
In you, Holy Cross, we see God who loves even to the end, and we see the hatred of those who want to dominate, that hatred which blinds the minds and hearts of those who prefer darkness to light.
O Cross of Christ, Ark of Noah that saved humanity from the flood of sin, save us from evil and from the Evil One. O Throne of David and seal of the divine and eternal Covenant, awaken us from the seduction of vanity! O cry of love, inspire in us a desire for God, for goodness and for light.
O Cross of Christ, teach us that the rising of the sun is more powerful than the darkness of night. O Cross of Christ, teach us that the apparent victory of evil vanishes before the empty tomb and before the certainty of the Resurrection and the love of God which nothing can defeat, obscure or weaken. Amen!
SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
Good Friday, 25 March 2016
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