As we enter Holy Week we are pilgrims in spirit. Made clean and strong by scripture, by prayer and by sacrament, we walk close to Christ. We carry our branches of palm and, from the deep places of the heart, we echo our "Hosanna!" hoping that we also will not be fickle and false. We stand judged as we face the light of Christ. Like Pilate, we have asked "what is truth?" The answer comes to all who have cars to hear. We meet our redeemer in his betrayal, rejection, suffering and most shameful death. Oscar Romero reminded us. ". . . Evil brought death to the son of God. Human sin even now kills God's children . . . " This week recalls us all to ultimate reality. We see the son of God in the desolation of Calvary and are enabled to make reflection on death as part of Christian prayer. We no longer are among Pascal's foolish ones who, discovering that they can do nothing about death, decide not to think about it. The truly Christian view removes our faltering, foolish attempts to hide our pathetic finitude from others and from ourselves. The cross is our sign of victory as we reflect that in dying Christ destroyed our death, in rising He restored our life, and that He will come again in glory for each of us.
A great wonder for us is that the mysteries of Christ belong to eternity. His words, His actions and His love help and heal us now. We are limited to the present vanishing moment which is however ". . . eternity's sunrise". Our human loves are, at best, feeble lights. Before the cross the love of Christ unites all our dear ones, far and near, living and dead in His ever vibrant now. This we touch in sacrament and prayer. His word of life shines through the dark of our confusions. Torrents of long awaited grace renew the arid wastes of life. We know it is not enough to mend our foolish ways and to reject the foulness of our more odious sins. We long to become the "new person". The Last Supper and Cal vary can make all this possible if we do not obstruct the working of our God. New hope shines.
We take our pilgrim steps, to the upper room, to the garden of agony, and along the road to Calvary. We stand with Our Lady and St John and St Mary Magdalen beside the cross. Perhaps some Gospel phrases condemn us as we listen. ". . . Thirty pieces of silver I know not the man... a cowardly washing of the hands... we have no king but Caesar. . . And they all leaving Him fled Jesus said to Pilate everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice By these words we stand judged. The Good Friday Gospels end with the dark shadow of suffering, of death and of the borrowed tomb. But Christ's story does not end here. Nor does ours. As we unite in pilgrim prayer around the cross we join the centurion of Calvary, "Indeed this is the Son of God".
". . . O King of the Friday
Whose limbs were stretched on the cross,
O Lord who did suffer the bruises, the wounds, the loss,
We stretch ourselves
Beneath the shield of thy might,
May some fruit from the tree of thy passion
Fall on us this night! . . ."