'Now you are sorrowful, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you' (Jn 16:22–23).
The theme of the Servants of Suffering's spiritual exercises, held in San Giovanni Rotondo from 20 to 24 August, is both powerful and fitting. What did Jesus want to tell us? The Lord uses the image of a woman in labour to explain the meaning of the cross to the apostles. Life flows from the mother's womb through childbirth, a painful process of separation. The newborn baby is afraid of dying, but in fact it is being born. Childbirth is a beginning, not an end! Life does not begin with deception, but with Easter. This is a lesson that we never fully learn. This fear plants irrational enigmas in us - questions that we carry with us throughout our lives - and responds to the fear of abandonment and the unknown.
This is the same pain that the Lord experiences on the cross. At the moment when he takes on the weight of our existence, Jesus must confront this terror, which is part of the human condition. He must engage in a spiritual battle against those who convince us that 'God does not love us, does not exist, and certainly does not care about us'.
What did Jesus do in his moment of abandonment? He called out to his Mother and said yes to his Heavenly Father.
This is what we must do; this is the most valuable suggestion to which we must cling when the challenges of everyday life rear their heads again. When spiritual exercises seem distant and the effort seems Herculean.
Mary has already experienced this 'absence': the angel announces the coming of Jesus to her, but then leaves, leaving her alone. She keeps everything in her heart, not knowing what is happening. Yet she continues to trust in God, in the ordinariness of a life that we would not exactly describe as 'comfortable'. She does not give in to do-it-yourself solutions or the idea that God helps those who help themselves. She does not succumb to the many substitutes for psycho-physical well-being that the world offers us, which ultimately always respond to the desires of goods, the flesh and the ego (1 Jn 2:16). Free us, Lord!
Padre Pio told our father, "My son, begin to accept adversity and affliction with sweet resignation, and the Lord will not fail to fill your heart with serenity, peace, joy and, therefore, bliss in suffering. This is what I did, and this is what you must do' (Padre Pio, My Father, p. 48). This is what we must do.
This year's spiritual exercises were ones we never wanted to experience: the first ones without our Father. But Jesus promised us that, even though the pain of his physical absence seems to prevail now, we will be in joy with both our Fathers in Heaven - if the Lord wills it.
Reciting the Way of the Cross beside the mortal remains of Padre Pio gave us a foretaste of Paradise. We will enter Heaven together, and the thought of our intercessors is our greatest consolation.
In the meantime, we are not alone. As always, our dear Mother has anticipated our spiritual needs, giving us a precious testimony about the Father and promising to compile the history of our family in a book. Thank you, Mother! We will pray to the Holy Spirit to lighten the burden of this work for you and those who will assist you.
