Spiritual Life through Reflections, Meditations and Contemplations

The Boat does not Know the Depth of the Waters:

Commentary on an African Proverb

This Hangaza (Tanzania) proverb has been collected in 2009 as part of a collection soon to be available on the net as an e-book. The original is: “Umubindi ushira uvimye” (Hangaza), which could be translated into Swahili as “Mtungwi hauwezi kujua panapokuwa pamejaa maji”, and in French: “La barque ne connaît pas la profondeur de l’eau.”

The Hangaza ethnic group is a small unit of about fifty thousands people dwelling between Rwanda and the Lake Victoria, within the Tanzanian territory. Their language is close to kinyarwanda, with some small variations. The fact that it is a tiny ethnic minority within Tanzania compels members perhaps to be particularly cautious about their neighbours and to consequently learn to go beyond the ordinary face-value.

A most immediate object of contemplation for the Hangaza people is the great Lake Victoria together with some great rivers immediately next to it. But these sites can also be used for acquiring wisdom. It has been noticed for instance that small boats have the capacity to float above the waters, but it does not mean that they control the waters, nor does it mean that they know what constitutes their inside. Whether the waters are deep, whether there is fish, or crocodiles or bilharzias, the boat cannot say. There is more to it than what is actually seen, even with the gained capacity to float over it. It represents an unmistakable call to prudence and caution with regard to relationships and to new ventures.

 
Biblical Parallels

This proverb is considering prudence and the acquisition of a cute, discerning spirit such as Jesus struggled to teach his disciples and followers. In Matthew 7 verse 15 we have for instance these few words: “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves”. Jesus invites to go beyond what is immediately seen and explains within the few following verses that what is needed is to really know the quality of the prophets, and which is understood only through some produced fruits, good deeds, results: so many aspects which mean much more than a gentle attractive dress.

Perhaps there is still more to it. Jesus also struggled to make a change within the group of his disciples by inviting them to step away from pure outside ritualism (such as strict obedience to materialistic rules) which in itself reveals nothing about the inner quality and character of a person. A sentence like “there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him” (Mark 7: 15, amazingly the same reference than the quote referred to above, but from another gospel) does invite all of us to convert, that is to turn our attention from the immediate outside superficiality towards the enigmatic (but infinitely more precious) inside character of a person.

This high sensitivity that Jesus shows towards the inner quality of people is precisely what fuels his violent diatribes against the Pharisees. Indeed, they commonly mislead the people by their simple appearance: “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup of the plate, but inside are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Matthew 23: 25-28). 

Contemporary Use and Religious Application

This Hangaza proverb is first used as a call to caution and prudence, within the same style as “anything that shines does not do so because of gold”. Within our contemporary world, it would be amazing to consider technical and cultural locus which call to much commitments while being in themselves just a few inches deep: advertising images, propaganda leaflets, computer and television screens. Some of these produce forms of beauty which are only meant to mislead. Besides, this saying invites us to consider into wise perspectives flashing costumes, catchy words and alluring promises which are not uncommon within some public gatherings. Corruptive behaviours are also warned against with such a proverb.

As a French Missionary of Africa who has worked for 16 years in East Africa I am sometimes called to describe Tanzania to French people or France to Tanzanian people, and I am very much aware that what I am able to perform does not often go much beyond superficial presentations. Consequently, it happens to me to feel the need to complete my work with this proverb, meaning that there is really much more to it than what I may cage into my poor words and even pictures for that matter.  

If you liked this comment on an African Proverb, find more within a collection available on http://www.afriprov.org Please look for the rubric: ‘The African Proverb of the Month.’

Sainte Anne – Bethesda: Meditation on a Spiritual Mission from Jerusalem

In March 2010 I arrived in Jerusalem in order to follow the three months renewal programme offered by our Society. Very quickly, a few impressions came to me about the unique spiritual role this location has for us, the Missionaries of Africa and also for our world. The reflection was pursued and developed throughout the time of my stay, and I would like now to share something of it, in all simplicity, just as it came to me.

The Two Sides of the Location

From the beginning, it struck me that the site has a clear double spiritual identity. Our community in Jerusalem is usually called ‘Sainte Anne’ but would perhaps be better termed ‘Sainte Anne-Bethesda’. 

It is called ‘Sainte Anne’ first of all because it is here that is commonly located the residence of Sainte Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary. The place is marked by a magnificent basilica from the Crusaders’ period. Inside the basilica, there is a crypt which formerly was a grotto and it is here that tradition has it that the Virgin Mary was born. Every day, numerous pilgrims and visitors (between one and two thousand) come to visit and pray on this place.

Then, there is ‘Bethesda’, the other side of the place which is perhaps less well known. It is on this very place that Jesus is thought to have healed a paralytic, according to a narrative found in John Chapter 5.  Two thousands years of history brought with them a series of constructions on the site (which include two churches now in ruins). These obscure somewhat the exact location and details of the healing event, but the general terms are not disputed.

During my conversations with some people, I occasionally encountered a slightly dismissive attitude towards the sanctity of the place. Perhaps, we do not know for sure whether it was there really that the fore-mentioned events took place. Perhaps it is also because they refer to happenings that are too far-away and that have become meaningless to our modern world and to its own sets of particular challenges. Also, there is an occasional feeling that the life of Anne and Joachim are peripheral to the central tenets of our faith and to our own personal spiritual life. The events that took place at Sainte Anne-Bethesda might further be pointed out as signs of devotional attitudes without affinity to our missionary commitments to the Church in Africa and among Africans. 

This meditation has as one of its aim to challenge these ideas and to point to the fact that when we scratch the surface of the common, daily perceptions of the sanctuary, we may understand that there could be a great potential for spiritual animation and renewal yet to be exploited, including within our own Society. And the two sides of the sanctuary are for me important. What follows might explain why.

Bethesda: Healing the Healed Ones

The archaeological site of Bethesda presents the environment in which the healing of the paralytic in John 5 took place. Indeed, the healing ministry of Jesus is a very significant feature of the Gospel message, a message needless to say which is most relevant to our mission as Missionaries of Africa. According to the famous words of Saint Ireneus: ‘The Glory of God is man fully alive!’, and I repeatedly heard these words during my formative years. They encourage and promote that service of the mission which seeks to restore people’s full dignity wherever it is needed and wherever I will be sent as a missionary. I believe that this ministry falls right under the heading ‘Justice and Peace’ which is consistently coming back within the chapters of the Society. Justice means health benefits, education, services and rights for those who are down-trodden and marginalised. It means a better share of the world’s wealth. It is a message particularly relevant for the continent of Africa which is so commonly perceived as the poorest and the least well serviced of all. The few years during which I have operated as a pastoral minister in Africa taught me, if need be, how relevant and meaningful is the healing ministry of Jesus for a great number of our believers. I commonly witnessed the movement of people coming to our churches drawn by the hope of some healing or assistance. And there is also the movement of people going away from our churches drawn by that same hope, when they are not satisfied with the services which are provided for them or attracted by the promises offered in another place.

            It could be enlightening to look back at the text of John keeping in mind this context of ours as Missionaries of Africa. This I have tried to do during my stay in Jerusalem. A careful and patient reading of the text shows that there is something which is not complete or satisfactory in the healing of the paralytic. Indeed the paralytic performed what Jesus asked of him, namely to ‘pick up his mat and to walk away’, but surprisingly enough, it did not trigger in himself any interest for the person of the healer who is Jesus. The paralytic did not look at him nor did he ask himself or anyone else who had healed him. We are told in the text that the next day, the Jews asked the former paralytic: “Who is the man who told you ‘pick up your mat and walk’?” And the former paralytic ‘had no idea who it was’! It is quite astonishing when we think of it. A full day had passed, and he had not tried to find out for himself who the man was, who it was that had caused him to be well again. Keeping the discussion about the rest of the Shabbat aside, the event clearly leads towards a speech of Jesus revealing himself as he truly is. This means that the identity of Jesus as it is presented in the Gospel of John is the most important issue, even more important than the healing event and that is precisely what the former paralytic did not engage with.

            Another detail of the narrative may still shed further light on the significance of this particular healing. We are told in verse 5:5 that the man had been paralysed for ‘38 years’. Interestingly enough, this detail is recalled on the walls close to the pools of Bethesda till the present day. Perhaps this is just his age, but perhaps there is something else. By chance, I happened to meet a reference to ‘38 years’ which is found at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy. It is at the time when the chosen people are ready to cross the river Jordan and enter into the promised land. Deuteronomy 2:14 offers the following ‘from Kadesh-Barnea to the wadi Zered our wanderings had taken thirty-eight years’. We know that the wanderings of the people in the desert took 40 years. But these 40 years consist of two quite distinct periods. In the beginning, the Israelites were jubilant about their newly-found liberation and the new life of freedom from the Egyptians. There is a ‘honey-moon’ period. However, this period ended in Kadesh-Barnea, in the second year after the exodus. Effectively, the event of Kadesh-Barnea is explained in Deuteronomy (chapter 1) as the place where the Israelites lost faith and doubted the Lord who was guiding them. It is the place where the people started to complain and look for other saviours, the place where they did not look on God any more in order to set their ultimate hopes in Him.

            Perhaps the reference to the 38 years of paralysis for the man in John 5 was an echo to this foundational experience as found in Deuteronomy. Perhaps there is a warning for the paralytic and for all of us missionaries. Perhaps there is a message which might lie behind all this. We might consider that it is one thing to be free, to live in an honest environment, to enjoy rights, but this might not be enough. Even within a just society there are hardships and temptations. A question could be: is this liberation and healing going to help people to recognise the only saviour? Will it help them to trust God? Saint Ireneus already mentioned, would complete his statement with another one ‘the glory of man is the vision of God’, an aspect I did not hear in my formative years as much as the first part.

            Understood in this light, we may think of the pools of Bethesda as a warning for our Society and our missionary commitments, especially concerning our ‘Justice and Peace’ apostolate. Let us pray that this apostolate be brought to its completion and fulfilment in a true and full relationship with God himself! There is a direction to work towards, a direction found not in the common standards that society offers. There is a spiritual dimension in development projects, advocacy, lobbying and militancy and other related activities. The pools of Bethesda lie at the heart of our Society. May they help all of us to work for an integrated, just and peaceful environment, and may our good Lord bring our efforts to their true completion.

Sainte Anne: the Treasure of the Mother

On the other side of the sanctuary is Sainte Anne, the residence of Anne and Joachim and the birth place of the Virgin Mary. Here in Sainte Anne, we may look at the grand-parents of Jesus and at the parents of Mary.

Perhaps the origin of the devotion to Sainte Anne and Joachim in this particular location is less sure than that of Bethesda. There is no scriptural reference to support the homage which is paid here. But does this matter? We know for sure that Jesus had a mother and had some grandparents, and these may rightly be honoured. For so doing, this place is as good as any other. We may remember that it has been the case for two millennia and it continues up to today.

What is special about a grandparent, a grandfather or a grandmother? The obvious immediate answer is age, with its particular set of joys, needs and concerns. Contrasted with the healing ministry which is summed up in Bethesda and perhaps especially appropriate to Africa, we face with Sainte Anne the ministry to the aged (which may include ancestors). Personally, it compels me to think about Europe and Americas, where our missionary Society started, where our ancestors in the mission are still to be found and where, as the last chapter stressed, we are faced with an elderly population with its own specific worries to be cared for.

One of the greatest causes of suffering experienced by these, the ancestors in the faith we have as Missionaries of Africa, is for them to see the failure of the transmission of the faith to the new generations within the Western world. While the African Church grew through their generous efforts, something was going on in their homeland and they came back as strangers, even strangers in the faith. I know of some who are so hurt by this phenomenon that they can not even talk about it freely. What has gone wrong that churches have become empty? Within the last 10 years, only one Frenchman has taken his oath within our Society. What about the Netherlands or Belgium? This is a pain that cannot be avoided. This is to be squarely and courageously faced with the help of models which can still be Anne and Joachim, if only through prayer.

But there might be still more to it: what is special about a parent? What is special about a mother? For me, an approach of response is the notion of ‘home’. The mother, and perhaps to a lesser degree, the father, are the ones in charge of the house, of the home. They are the ones who bring up, educate, give the language to speak, the customs to adopt, and in most cases, the religion to embrace. There is familiarity and intimacy in the notion of ‘home’ that only the usual resident can perceive. ‘Come to my home and I will show you my world’ we could rightly say. To meet somebody in his or her home is quite different from meeting this same person through a book, or in a shop or within the context of a classroom. There, in his or her home, I may understand more deeply, more intimately, who that person really is, what his or her world truly is, and I may love more deeply.

Sainte Anne is the home of the grand-parents, the home of the mother and in some ways, the home of Jesus. For sure, it is to be related with Nazareth, the more habitual home for Jesus in his tender years. Sainte Anne was his home when he was coming to Jerusalem for the religious festivals, and we might imagine him in the sweet company of his grandparents during his visits here. We may imagine Anne and Joachim spoiling the little Jesus through showing him the magnificent buildings of the city, and most of all, the Temple. Perhaps not unlike many modern youths of our times, he first heard from his grandparents about faith and the worship which is due in the Temple.

To deepen within us the desire to know Jesus within the familiarity and intimacy of his very ‘home’, (which may quite naturally include the Jewish-ness of his faith and worship), is to deepen our capacity and desire to meet any different person with a radical respect, until I might grasp what constitutes the familiarity of his own world. A great model for encounter and dialogue for our time (and also I believe for our Society of Missionaries) is Charles de Foucault. We may well be reminded here that between the period when he was a Cistercian monk and the period of his radical commitment in the Saharan desert of Algeria, there was a period of three full years in Nazareth, then a little village. There, in Nazareth, Charles could contemplate at leisure the ‘hidden life’ of Jesus and grow familiar with his world and home. It is from there that he wrote most of his spiritual writings. Surely, it is there that he became inflamed with a burning desire to live this ‘hidden life’ of Jesus but also to meet the people of other faiths as he found them in Algeria in their ‘hidden homes’ and with radical respect.

What remains for us as Missionaries of Africa, is an example and an ideal, to nourish the second side of a mission which we also found consistently repeated in the last chapters of our Society: ‘Encounter and Dialogue’. In Jerusalem, may we find the home of Jesus, and through doing so, may we grow stronger and more courageous to encounter people of other faiths, until we can truly understand what constitutes their own universe. In a way, it is a dialogue which is brought to some fullness. It is a dialogue which does not remain at the level of ideas or good wishes. It is a dialogue without a hidden agenda, a dialogue for the sake of friendship and of peace, for the sake of meeting the presence of God within the life of another person and another culture.

Within the crypt of the basilica, there is a book in which pilgrims and visitors are invited to share their intentions. Within this book, prayers and intentions for mothers are not uncommon. Sainte Anne is a place which speaks to mothers, for mothers and which is about mothers. The treasure of a mother is her home and the homely atmosphere she can offer. Keeping in mind our own respective mothers, and also the Church, keeping in mind the home of Jesus, we as missionaries while visiting the Holy Land and Jerusalem may gain a unique opportunity to deepen our mission about Encounter and Dialogue and to pray so that the Lord may bring these efforts to completion. 

Hinge of our Society and Some Ideas

Saint Anne-Bethesda is the oldest house the Society presently owns. We started the apostolate a mere ten years after our foundation. Despite historical difficulties we have kept it to the present day, where a number of very invaluable ministries are going on. I would like to believe that this place is not entrusted to us without a special reason. It has a central role despite, and perhaps also because of the fact that it is not located in Africa or in Europe. In Sainte Anne-Bethesda, missionaries and visitors are offered unique opportunities to renew and revitalise their apostolic commitments in their most modern and updated twists.

Perhaps, besides the three months sessions which are offered twice a year, there is room for ideas to further invigorate the spiritual role of this unique place. A resident missionary mentioned to me some possible networking ministry. For instance it could be worth analysing the role of ‘healing centres’ operating presently in Africa or asking those engaged in healing ministry whether they would find inspiring the message of Bethesda. Besides, there are, all over the world, numerous holy places dedicated to Saint Anne, such as Sainte Anne d’Auray in Britanny, France, with its famous annual festival. Is there not a place for them to relate to their spiritual ‘Mother’ in Jerusalem? What about visitors coming here every day? Is it possible for them to listen and learn about ‘Justice and Peace’ or about ‘Dialogue and Encounter’?  

Within and without the context of the sessions, the two missionary aspects of ‘Justice and Peace’ and ‘Encounter and Dialogue’ could be much further deepened. Spiritual renewal which is already offered there would, in this way, lead naturally to a more profound understanding of the mission to be embraced and carried out when going back to the apostolate.

Sainte Anne-Bethesda of Jerusalem,May 30^th 2010,

 On the Feast of the Holy Trinity,

And on the Feast Day for all ‘Mothers’,

As Celebrated in Many Countries

Sainte Anne transmitting to her daughter, Mary, a painting from the Church Notre Dame des Montiers, Tinchebray (Orne).

Lady Camera and Mister Rosary

Between March and May 2010, when I was on a short sabbatical in Jerusalem, I used to admire the crowded narrow streets of the old city. It seemed to me that pedestrians could be divided into two different kinds: first the group composed of a devoutly religious population, mainly local Muslims, but joined by some pious Christian pilgrims. These people are commonly identified with a beads or a rosary in their hands for helping them pray. Then there is the second group which consists of visiting tourists from all over the world. These people frequently have a camera on their chest.

As I looked quietly in front of a shop, I saw a tall tourist lady making some business deal with an elderly shopkeeper. Gently, in order to free herself, the tall tourist lady dropped her camera onto the counter just beside the little rosary of the shop-owner.

Everybody got absorbed in the deal and so nobody noticed.

Nobody noticed what I saw and heard.

I just could not believe it, as the most incredible thing happened…

Lady Camera engaged a conversation with Mister Rosary!!!

And this is what I heard…

Lady Camera: Look at me poor little Mister Rosary! Don’t you see how charming I am? Look at my beautiful eye which takes in every delightful thing on this planet! I am also shining because of my precious metallic skin. My owner keeps me preciously inside a pure leather bag. You know she bought me dearly with quite a few large banknotes!

And as if this was not enough, lady camera in her arrogance and haughtiness felt like adding:

Lady Camera: I am so pleased I am not like you, poor Mister Rosary! Look at you! You never go out of this city, you commonly lick the dust and the rough wood you are made of is not worth much. I can hardly look at you, you know, and indeed my owner would never place my delicate eye in front of you, she would think you are not worth it, and rightly so I believe. I bet you have been purchased with a few very common petty coins. Indeed I am glad I am not you!

And at this, the tall lady took her camera and left the shop.

Needless to say, Lady Camera was not being very kind or sensitive. Poor little Mister Rosary! He felt hurt, lonely and sad. He could not say anything in reply anything. He just had no time to think about all that he had just heard, it was so new to him. When the darkness of the evening came, poor little Mister Rosary wept, feeling his worthlessness.

But as it happened, his sleep that night brought the sweet consolation of a dream to poor little Mister Rosary. What was in the dream belongs to Mister Rosary alone, and what I can tell you is only what I heard a few days later as I happened to pass by in front of the same shop, which had the same tall tourist lady engaged in a heated conversation with the same shop-owner. Perhaps the deal was not so easy after all, and nobody noticed.

Nobody noticed what I saw and heard.

I just could not believe it, as the most incredible thing happened…

Mister Rosary engaged the conversation with Lady Camera!!!

And this is what I heard…

Mister Rosary: Look at me Lady Camera! Don’t you know, I have for each and every one of my beads, a name, a prayer, a wish and a blessing. My owner cherishes me and holds me often in the warmth of his hand, because I bring him a little help to reach the marvellous world you can never see with your beautiful seducing eye. Through me, my master gets a bit closer to the kingdom of the King. In my company, he even sometimes feels protected and strong. I do not envy you any more. The small coins which purchased me are of the kind we see in houses of prayer, in the collection box, unlike the large bank notes which purchased you. Perhaps, it is one more reason why I am so precious.

And as if this was not enough, Mister Rosary in his vengeful mood felt like adding:

Mister Rosary: And look at you Lady Camera, don’t you know that your metallic skin is cold, that your single hungry eye is lonely and leads straight to a huge empty belly, which is nothing else than a big, dark, silent and cold box! And you are never satisfied, as nothing can please your big belly. Indeed you travel all over the world in order to see many beautiful things, but you do not keep anything for yourself and your home remains empty and void. You are always restless, constantly on the move. It seems to me that your owner is in such in a hurry that she cannot listen or read properly. She always mispronounces or confuses things. When the King talks about ‘worth’, she just thinks about ‘wealth’. Or when it is about ‘meaning’, she understands nothing but ‘money’! She also confuses ‘goodness’ with ‘goodies’ and ‘good’ with ‘goods’. No, I do not envy you anymore. Please the King you will find rest with yourself, even if it is for one day only!

And on this, the tall lady took her camera and left the shop.

Needless to say, Mister Rosary was not very kind or sensitive. Poor Lady Camera, perhaps she deserved it, but all the same it was quite hard for her. In front of Mister Rosary, she kept her appearances, but she was very hurt and wounded inside. She started to doubt about herself, about her worth and for the first time, when the darkness of the evening came, she could feel her big, huge, dark belly which is never satisfied, which is the home of nobody and of nothing. And she wept, feeling her emptiness and restlessness.

But as it happened her sleep that night brought the sweet consolation of a dream to Lady Camera. What was in the dream belongs to Lady Camera alone, and what I can tell you is only what I heard a few days later as I happened to pass by in front of the same shop, which had the same tall tourist lady engaged in a peaceful conversation with the same shop-owner. Perhaps the tall lady was ready to depart and now she came to say bye to her friend the elderly shop-owner, because now they were simply sharing some tea together.

 Nobody noticed what I saw and heard. You can imagine how eager I now was to know how the quarrel would end.

And so I just could not believe it, as the most unlikely happened…

Lady Camera was again placed besides Mister Rosary, and this time nobody was in a hurry to talk. Instead, they looked at each other for quite a long while. And then, hesitantly Lady Camera engaged the conversation,

And that is what I heard…

Lady Camera: Forgive my insolence the other day, little brother. As for me, I have already forgiven your harsh words towards me. I just want to make peace with you. Because I am very grateful to you as you opened my understanding.

You were right I have a big empty belly which is never satisfied with anything. I am very poor indeed, but this poverty enables me to receive the whole world. Besides, am I so different than your beads? Because, unless your beads are pierced to their very hearts, every single one of them, they would not be tied together with a string. And look at you, little brother, your beads gently draw a circle, but do you see what is in the middle of the circle? Tell me are we so different after all? I wish to depart in peace with you, because you are my brother.

Mister Rosary could not say much, as it was true that there was a hole in every one of his beads. He had never really thought about it that way. He looked at Lady Camera and said:

Mister Rosary: Thank you for your apology, I understand there is something true in what you say. Perhaps you are my sister after all. I know you will now leave us and it is most likely I will never see you again. I wish you well sister. Let us depart from each other in peace. I also forgive your harsh words for me, because with you I understand things a little bit differently now.

And they looked at each other. And they embraced and blessed each other. They were both quite emotional, but suddenly, the tall tourist lady, having just bid farewell to the shop-owner, took her camera and left the shop. She was not to be seen again in the streets of the old city of Jerusalem.

But since then, somewhere in a shop of the old city of Jerusalem, there is a little Mister Rosary who is dreaming of his sister Lady Camera. How dearly he would have wished to see her beside himself as his special friend. She would help him to explore the world which is elsewhere, the world beside, in other cities and in other lands under the sky. It seems to him that it would even help him to pray more fervently.

And since then, in the restlessness of the luggage of a hurried lady, there is a smart Lady Camera who dreams of her brother Mister Rosary. How dearly she would have wished to see him beside herself as her special companion. He would help her to explore the world which is elsewhere, the world beyond, above cities and lands, the world which is within the sky, the world which she is not allowed to contemplate, or so little. It seems to her that it would even help her to produce some more beautiful images.

And, somewhere, above in the sky, the King smiled…

Is Something Missing?

Do Not Worry!

Happy are those who feel there is Something missing in their lives,

Or in themselves,

Yes, blessed are they,

For they shall receive life,

And life to the full!

The Cross of the ‘Empty Space’

As it was made in 2008,

Mwanza, Tanzania.

           Let’s imagine for a moment a horses’ drawn carriage. Within the carriage, we can not see much of what is happening outside. But we may all feel that the road is chaotic. Soon, the carriage is drawn down to a slope with dangerous curves. One of the passengers then decides to approach the place where is the coach sitting in order to ask him something, probably to slow down. But to his great surprise, there is no coach that he can see. Instead, there is just an empty place. Yet he is not panicked, only a little scared or anxious but he discovers telling himself: ‘Here I am, guided by somebody who is absent to me. This one who is absent, it is Jesus.’ He also hears the challenge which is then addressed to him in his heart: ‘Here is your reality, do you choose it? Are you ready?’

           Perhaps this is the reality this cross attempts to express. It is a large and thick wooden cross. It has been carved, but instead of carving some Jesus’ shape directed towards the outside, as it usually is the case with traditional crucifixes, the carving of Jesus is made from within the inside of the wood. The wood is at the image of some feet which could have left their marks on the sand. It represents from within the shape of Jesus. Jesus was on the cross but he is no longer there. It is an empty cross, a powerful symbol of the resurrection, to be associated of course with the empty tomb.

          I shared this second image with a nun working in my area, as well as my desire to see the carving of an ‘empty cross’ or more exactly of the ‘emptied cross’ or ‘the cross of the empty space’. Without telling me, she gave order to a local artist so to consequently propose it to me. Yes, that was a great surprise!. Here is the cross in front of my eyes and it does not leave me indifferent. Some ideas and emotions, which were till then rather vague are taking shape. Here is something which speaks in my heart. I suspect something deeply carved in my soul, for reasons that I can almost guess, so much so that a soul or a personality forges itself through events of its past and history.

Absence as Quality of Faith

Who is Jesus for me today? I guess I could approach an answer around the notion of absence. Jesus is this absent who however absent is he, still guides me. This absent one, this is the one I choose for guide.

          ‘You believe because you can see me, happy are those who have not seen and yet believe’ (John, 20:29). These words of Jesus to Thomas the disciple do make a distinction between two different kinds of beliefs: belief within the seeing of the desired object and belief without it. My experience recalls naturally the latter one which I guess we are most of us more familiar with: belief while ‘not seeing’ the object of belief, that is Jesus. There is a distinction made within the quality of belief, according to the nature of the relationship and of the perception of the subject towards its object. Within faith without seeing, the subject does not possess its object in the same way than it is the case within the activity of seeing.

          The Absence of Jesus

          But the heart of the assent which is mine in faith is not an idea, a concept, a theory but a person. Jesus is this eternal absent who yet engages my whole life. Unlikely paradox: how to engage one’s whole life for somebody ‘who is not’, or perhaps ‘no longer is’ or ‘not yet is’. There is the feeling of a deep emptiness around which everything else rotates, or at least attempts to do so. Amazingly enough was not the Holy of Holies of the ancient people not already an empty space?

           Our modern world has so loudly and carelessly proclaimed the ‘death of God’ that we start witnessing, even among most devout followers of Christ, the deep suffering of his felt absence. This is now taking vivid expressions throughout crosses of the ‘empty places’ that we may find in different geographical areas, including the Holy Land and Poland.

While contemplating these crosses, how can we not to think about the words once heard at the empty tomb: ‘here is the place where he was but he is no longer here: do not worry.’ (Mark 16:6) These words provoked faith among a handful of people which soon would be the cause of a great fire transforming the whole known world of the times.

Perhaps these newly made crosses have just the same power!

An Olive Wood Cross as Found in the Holy Land, 2010  

A Cross in Pine Wood as Found in Zakopane, Poland, 2010

The Cross of the Resurrection and of Grace

This cross, drawn with sketchy and straight lines made of red and black colours is easily identified at the centre of the picture. This cross separates and dissociates the composition into its two parts: the left one from its right.

The left part is overwhelmed with the cold colours of black, blue and purple, and the shadowy composition around the cross recalls unmistakably the shape of half a coffin. It is the side of silence and of darkness, of death and of the ultimate end of people. The location towards which everything ends.

But this is occupying only half of the space within the work. And this is not to be dissociated from its twin represented on the right side. Perhaps, the red colour remains, but it takes a much greater place and this time it is to be accompanied no longer with darkness but with a lively yellow which seems to extent the orange flames of a fire nourishing itself from the wood of the cross. This fire, as it is really, is the fire of life, swinging and biting from death itself in order to stay alive, as if it is mocking the terrifying and morbid reality of suffering and death.

            This cross is the cross of the resurrection that is, of the passage from death to life. This is underlined by some backgrounds coloured in contrasted ways: first dark and cold, they rapidly become lively and pleasant such as with the generous and nourishing green of the vegetal world.

But how to describe the process of a passage from death to life? The symbolic value of the unifying cross is already meaningful: it is through a self oblation or a loving offering that the miracle may take place. But is this enough? It seems that the most enigmatic coloured spots, shaped as a colourful falling snow, are offering a most interesting key: it is grace, only grace falling freely from the sky that allows this fantastic transformation. It is this coloured snow that brings what is needed to ignite the transforming miracle.

            Paradoxes of a sound theology on grace and merit are therefore summarized magnificently and they invite us to deepen the understanding of the mysterious saying attributed to Saint Ignatius: ‘work as if everything is depending on God, and pray as if everything is depending on you.’