We are living the important days of Holy Week: the New Commandment, with the washing of the feet; the institution of the priesthood on Holy Thursday, the institution of the Eucharist; the Testament of Jesus; Jesus’ passion and abandonment on Good Friday; and his resurrection on Easter.
These are all such extraordinary, supernatural things, that it is very difficult to leave them behind now. It is almost as if we wished that our whole life could be one long Holy Week. These are all events which Christians are called to live out every day of their lives; and not only every day, but every moment. In fact, if we want our lives to be a Holy Journey, we must die to ourselves every day, in every moment, so as to rise in him.
So how can we live in such a way that these realities may always be present in our lives, so that these immense gifts can bear as much fruit as possible?
I intend to suggest three ways, which can be summed up in one. First of all, let’s set our hearts on our one great love: Jesus crucified and forsaken. Let’s love him first of all, in sufferings, embracing them always, immediately, and joyfully, repeating in the face of suffering the words that a dear friend repeated with such conviction just a short time before he left for Heaven: “Everything is love, everything!”
Let’s also love him by immersing ourselves in God’s will in each present moment, forgetting our own will, which we don’t want to take into consideration. Finally, let us love him by making ourselves one with every neighbor we meet — perfectly one in everything except sin. This demands dying to ourselves.
I assure you that if we live like this, we will lose nothing of what Holy Week has given us and reminded us of. “Washing one another’s feet” will become our way of life. And consequently, so will the New Commandment. The Testament of Jesus will come true.
The effect of the Eucharist on each of our individual lives (that is, our transformation into Christ) will become lasting, because one of the conditions for this to happen is that we do his will, in which we find all the virtues and all that he desires of us. In the same way, the transformation of all of us collectively into the Church, which is another effect of the Eucharist, will also become lasting, because of the mutual love among us, which is the condition for our becoming the Church. We will love Jesus Forsaken, not wanting anything but him; and the Risen Jesus will always triumph in our midst, turning our lives into a continual Easter.
Through our Holy Journey people will be convinced that Christ is risen, because they will have discovered him risen in our midst.
Chiara Lubich
