The large Cross on the square of La Verna stands out over the valley below and, in a certain sense, over the world. In this Lent of 2024, the year in which we remember the stigmata of St. Francis, let us look at it together, and ask ourselves what keys it offers us to celebrate the Lord's Easter to-day.
What key does the Cross give us passing through these days marked by the "mentality of war"? What does it arouse in us? Are we just merely passing by it? How can we make the Risen One's greeting "Peace be with you!" that Saint Francis makes his own with "May the Lord give you His peace" still resound to-day?
What key does the Cross give us to look with open eyes at the scandalous reality of the misery and impoverishment of many, alongside the enrichment of a few? An effect of this is also the situation of so many migrants, never so numerous in history. Which side are we on?
What key does the Cross give us to interpret the reality of persecution of so many Christians, to-day more numerous than those of the ancient Church? Do we remember that risking one's life for the Lord is simply part of Christian discipleship?
What key does the Cross give us to discern the hopes and struggles of our journey as a Church, of religious life and also in our Family? Let us think, for example, of the realities of diminishment and weakness that we are experiencing to-day in different parts of the world. Is it just a problem to be endured or also a paschal passage for new ways of being disciples of Jesus to-day?
What key does the Cross hold out to us to hear the cry of our “Common Home”, with the more than disturbing signs that we have before our very eyes? Do we want to deny it by pausing like many others at the suspicion of "ecological ideology", or are we able to choose a wiser reading of the signs of the times in order to act accordingly?
In these and in so many other signs that we are experiencing, St. Paul's words are stronger to-day than ever: "The whole creation groans and suffers in the pangs of childbirth" (cf. Rom 8:22).
May the complexity of this work not paralyze us! May the shadow and light of the great Cross of La Verna, especially this year, help us to look into a more distant horizon, to read in the light of the Lord's Passover the pangs of death and life present in the world.
Let us not let these questions fall to the side, let us ask ourselves personally, in our fraternities and with the laity with whom we share the journey.
