Letter from the Prelate (1 April 2020)

With Holy Week only a few days away and amid so much suffering, Monsignor Fernado Ocáriz invites us to look at Christ on the Cross, who is the source of our hope.

My dear children may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!

The Paschal Triduum is drawing near, when the liturgy will invite us to contemplate these great mysteries of God’s love for us. In the current time of suffering all over the world due to the pandemic, let us look frequently at Christ Crucified. Let us see in the Holy Cross, as the Pope helped us to consider this past March 27, the anchor of salvation that keeps us from shipwreck. From there Jesus illumines the meaning of suffering and even helps us to discover that, with his grace, we are able not to lose our joy. And what is more, many times we are able to recover it: Gaudium in Cruce!

At this time we have experienced how human solidarity, above all when it is informed by charity, pours itself out in generous service to others: beside the bed of a sick person, at the cashier in a supermarket, in caring for one’s own family, which is frequently isolated in a few square meters… Let us pray a lot for the people who are dying, for the sick—including faithful of the Work—and for their families. Let us address our grateful prayer to our Lord for the countless persons who are continuing to provide these and many other indispensable acts of service. They are a witness to the fact that the soul of any society is the spirit of service.

We can’t allow anxiety or fear to rob us of our peace, because, as Saint Paul wrote, Christ is our peace! (cf. Eph 2:14). In the circumstances of greater or lesser difficulty in which we find ourselves, let us place our trust in God’s love for each of us: He knows what is best and never abandons anyone. As Saint Josemaria reminded us, “What great trust, peace and optimism you will find, in the midst of difficulties, from realizing you are children of a Father who knows everything and can do everything” (Letter, 9 January 1959). With our trust placed above all in God—and not in our own strength—each of us can offer our talents to joyfully assist others, which will always be compatible with suffering and tears.

I invite you to take advantage of the opportunities that technology offers to follow the Holy Week services united to the Pope. During the upcoming days I will also send you, via the website, some reflections about the mysteries we will be celebrating, so that we can all pray together and be more closely united.

Your Father blesses you with all his affection,

Rome, 1 April 2020