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This final reflection in our series on Pope Francis' Lenten theme, From Indifference to Compassion, brings us to Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, the highpoint of our year as Christians.
But
for those who are seriously ill, who may be weighed down with pain, and
who are perhaps homebound, will this be a special week at all? And what
about caregivers, who have so much to do, and who may not even have
time to think about attending Holy Week services?
This
sacred time need not be complicated. The heart of the Easter Triduum is
the Cross of Christ and the Love with which he gave his life upon it,
for each and every one of us! We can access the graces of Holy Week
simply by meditating on the Cross as the proof of God's love.
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Find
a few minutes for quiet prayer. Take out your rosary, or pause before
the crucifix in your home. Let these words of two Popes penetrate deep
into your heart...
"You are the crucified Christ amongst us.
It is one thing to look at a Crucifix, it is another to look at a sick
man, woman or child who is crucified within their disease: you are
Christ's living flesh."
These
words were spoken by Pope Francis to a group of sick people in Naples,
Italy, on March 21. They communicate incredible reverence for the
dignity of each and every sick person:
YOU ARE THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST AMONG US!
Your
life and your sufferings have tremendous meaning. Don't ever doubt
that. You are a special presence of Christ for everyone you know. Thank
you for allowing us to accompany you on your own very personal way of
the Cross.
For
caregivers, you are Simon of Cyrene and Veronica to the sick for whom
you care with so much compassion. Thank you for your example in
accompanying the sick, and in doing so, for attesting to the dignity of
the human person, especially in his weakness and vulnerability.
"Man
is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer
with man in an utterly real way - in flesh and blood - as is revealed to
us in ... Jesus' Passion."
Commenting
on this insight of Pope Benedict XVI another author wrote, "The price
Christ paid to redeem us was inestimable: his own life, and the shedding
of his own blood, down to the last drop. We are worth all the blood of
Christ."
You are worth all the blood of Christ, just as you are, in all your weakness and pain.
YOU ARE THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST AMONG US.
YOU ARE WORTH ALL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
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For more information, contact the Publications Office:
serenity@littlesistersofthepoor.org | 410-744-9367 | www.littlesistersofthepoor.org
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