Glorious Cross February
Veneration forever to the shroud, stained with blood, in which the body of Jesus was wrapped! (Proper liturgy of the Crosiers, second Friday of Lent).
Look at the body. Don’t be afraid to fix your gaze on it. Look at the face, now pale in death, but once radiating the peace and joy of living in God. Look at the eyes, now shut to the light, but not long ago looking with love on children, the rich young man, the woman caught in adultery and bathed in tears over Jerusalem. Look at the ears, now deaf to the sounds of life, but which once heard the lament of the widow of Naim and the cries of the poor. Look at the mouth, now silenced, but which had spoken of the love of God, the pardon of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven. Look at the hands, nail-marked, limp and lifeless, that touched the sick to heal, the children to bless, the hungry to feed and the possessed to be calmed. Look at the chest, now pierced through, rigid and cold, that before heaved with emotion at the death of his friend and was a place of warmth for the head of his beloved disciple. Look at the feet, nail-marked as well, mangled and immobile, that used to walk on water and travel everywhere with the Good News for the poor. Don't be afraid to look long at the deceased Christ and to worship him.
The grave is the way to life. (Baoule)
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