Via Crucis 2008
Dear brothers and sisters,
This year too we have walked along the way of the cross, the Via
Crucis, evoking again with faith the stages of the passion of
Christ. Our eyes have turned to contemplate the sufferings and the
anguish that our Redeemer had to bear in the hour of great sorrow,
which entailed the highpoint of his earthly mission. Jesus dies on
the cross and lies in the tomb. The day of Good Friday, so permeated
by human sadness and religious silence, closes in the silence of
meditation and prayer. In returning home, we too, like those who
were present at the sacrifice of Jesus, beat our breasts, recalling
what happened. Is it possible to remain indifferent before the death
of the Lord, of the Son of God? For us, for our salvation he became
man, so as to be able to suffer and die.
Brothers and sisters: Let us direct today our gaze toward Christ, a
gaze frequently distracted by scattered and passing earthly
interests. Let us pause to contemplate his cross. The cross, fount
of life and school of justice and peace, is the universal patrimony
of pardon and mercy. It is permanent proof of a self-emptying and
infinite love that brought God to become man, vulnerable like us,
unto dying crucified.
Through the sorrowful way of the cross, the men of all ages,
reconciled and redeemed by the blood of Christ, have become friends
of God, sons of the heavenly Father. "Friend," is what Jesus calls
Judas and he offers him the last and dramatic call to conversion.
"Friend," he calls each of us, because he is the authentic friend of
everyone. Unfortunately, we do not always manage to perceive the
depth of this limitless love that God has for us. For him, there is
no distinction of race or culture. Jesus Christ died to liberate the
humanity of old of their ignorance of God, of the circle of hate and
violence, of the slavery to sin. The cross makes us brothers and
sisters.
But let us ask ourselves, in this moment, what have we done with
this gift, what have we done with the revelation of the face of God
in Christ, with the revelation of the love of God that conquers
hate. Many, in our age as well, do not know God and cannot encounter
him in Christ crucified. Many are in search of a love or a liberty
that excludes God. Many believe they have no need of God.
Dear friends: After having lived together the passion of Jesus, let
us this night allow his sacrifice on the cross to question us. Let
us permit him to challenge our human certainties. Let us open our
hearts. Jesus is the truth that makes us free to love. Let us not be
afraid: upon dying, the Lord destroyed sin and saved sinners, that
is, all of us. The Apostle Peter writes: "He himself bore our sins
in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live
for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). This is the truth of Good Friday:
On the cross, the Redeemer has made us adoptive sons of God who he
created in his image and likeness. Let us remain, then, in adoration
before the cross.
Christ, give us the peace we seek, the happiness we desire, the love
the fills our heart thirsty for the infinite. This is our prayer for
this night, Jesus, Son of God, who died for us on the cross and was
resurrected on the third day.
Amen. Top
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