#wyd1984

Thought for the Day – 6 September

In 1984, at the close of the 1983 Holy Year of the Redemption at the Vatican, St Pope John Paul II entrusted to the young people of the world a simple, 12-foot wooden Cross, asking them to carry it across the world.   This is now the heart of every World Youth Day this  very simple, powerful, ancient Christian symbol:  two large planks of wood, known as the World Youth Day Cross, that many have called the “Olympic Torch” of the huge Catholic festival of young people.

The World Youth Day cross has many names:  the Jubilee Cross, the Pilgrim Cross, the Youth Cross.   In 1984, at the close of the 1983 Holy Year of the Redemption at the Vatican, St Pope John Paul II entrusted to the young people of the world a simple, twelve-foot wooden Cross, asking them to carry it across the world as a sign of the love which the Lord Jesus has for humankind and “to proclaim to everyone that only in Christ who died and is risen is there salvation and redemption.”   Since that day, carried by generous hands and loving hearts, the Cross has made a long, uninterrupted pilgrimage across the continents, to demonstrate, as Pope John Paul II had said, “the Cross walks with young people and young people walk with the Cross.”

The cross does not journey alone.   Since 2003 it has been accompanied by an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. a copy of the Icon of our Lady known as the ‘Salus Populi Romani’. The original from which this Icon has been copied is considered by some to be from the eighth century and is housed in a chapel in the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.   St Pope John Paul II entrusted to the youth an icon of the Blessed Mother that would accompany the cross.   “It will be a sign of Mary’s motherly presence close to young people who are called, like the Apostle John, to welcome her into their lives.”

The World Youth Day Cross and Icon speak to us of the two focal points of the message of Christianity:   of the Cradle and of the Cross;  of Christ who was born of Mary and of Christ who was crucified for us;   of Christmas and Good Friday;  of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery.   The Icon and Cross, therefore, are potent symbols of the joy and suffering that we experience in our Christian pilgrimage.

Because we follow a crucified Christ, we enter into solidarity with the world’s suffering masses.   We experience the power and love of God through the vulnerable and suffering.   The Cross teaches us that what could have remained hideous and beyond remembrance is transformed into beauty, hope and a continuous call to heroic goodness.

To celebrate the Triumph of the Cross is to acknowledge the full, cruciform achievement of Jesus’ career.   Jesus asks us to courageously choose a life similar to his own.   Suffering cannot be avoided nor ignored by those who follow Christ.   Following Jesus implies suffering and a cross.   The mark of the Messiah is to become the mark of his disciples. (Fr Rosica)