Glorious Cross April 4
On the scapular, at breast level, a cross made of cloth should be sewn, of which the horizontal part should be white, and the vertical part red (Const. GS19.2).
The practice of wearing an image of the Cross can seem ridiculous. At the time of Christ, the cross was an instrument of capital punishment. The crucified were considered the dregs of society and their deaths a purge of social evil. What a reverse of logic to permit the veneration of such a symbol and use it as an instrument of blessing! With it, an infant is marked at baptism, sick people are anointed, the Eucharistic Assembly is dismissed and people sign themselves on rising in the morning and going to bed at night. A charm around the neck, a decoration on the wall, the lead in all processions—what is the sense to all of it? In our tradition as Crosiers, the Maltese cross is worn as a silent sermon to confreres and Christians. When confreres in habit meet one another face-to-face, the first message, to one another, appearing in red and white, is that of the Paschal Mystery. When confreres in habit meet Christians, the first pastoral exchange, made with the flash of festive colors, is that of the Glorious Cross. To wear the image of the Cross is to engage in evangelization.
The guinea fowl looks at the neck of its precursor. (Mali)
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