Glorious Cross April 16
As Crosiers, we want to be witnesses of the Glorious Cross in our culture (Congolese Regional Statutes, Intro. 1.1).
It is said that the geographical shape of Africa is cruciform and the experience of her life is crucifying. Certainly, it is the dark side of the Cross that she has especially known. The exploitation of her material and human resources, even before the colonial period, has left her ravaged and vulnerable. The effects of her forced submission to the colonial powers remain ambiguous. Africa tasted the promises of prosperity coming from the outside, but her development was spoiled by her “friends’” eventual abandonment of her and by the twisted ambitions of her own children. What suffering almost everywhere after the struggle for independence: ethnic conflict, political corruption, dictatorship, destruction of infrastructure, violations of human rights, degradation of cultural values, deadly illnesses, continuous exploitation by foreigners, subsistence economies, etc. Africa’s singing and dance still witness to a vitality, but one more and more sapped. Her hope is not yet dead, but she has need of a new assurance that the God she has known down through the ages has not taken distance from her misery. Who will announce to her that, hidden in the cruciform of her shape and life, there is the possibility of resurrection? Who will teach Africa how to pass by that way? Who will engage in solidarity with her, comfort her distress, lead her out? Who knows how or even dares to present the message of the Glorious Cross to her?
A bird without wings cannot fly. (Rwanda)
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