|
INTRODUCTION
A walk with Christ during His Passion in a procession which talks to us
You were healed by His Wounds On Good Friday, more than on any other days, some phrases of the Bible seem more apt and keep on ticking in our minds. More so when we are watching one of the processions held in various parts of the islands. St Peter’s words hits us really hard when we are remembering the most important episode in the history of mankind: For it were better for them not have known the way of justice, than having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. For what that true proverb says has happened to them, ‘A dog returns to his vomit,’ and ‘A sow even after washing wallows in the mire.’ 1 Peter 2, 21-24 In Senglea, where the procession is one of the oldest, this phrase by St Peter is felt more than one feels it in other places. The image of Jesus the Redeemer attracts many people to this city. We do not go to Senglea only on Good Friday. We do not visit the Basilica Sanctuary of Marija Bambina only on the two occasions when this sacred image comes out of the church in pilgrimages organised during Lent and June.
We are greatly impressed when in any time of the year we find some parents, at times even with their children who together go and pray in front of the statue of Jesus the Redeemer. They, in silence open out their hearts and kneeling ask for some special favour or grace they long for especially when they are passing through difficult times. Their prayers have more value when they ask His help so that they can do their duty well and whey they ask Him to make their lives resemble His Life.
Crown of thorns as a show of love
It is an improbable sight when one sees people in front of the church door waiting for it to open so that they can go in and pray in front of the statue of the Redeemer. This is not a statue which one can crown with a golden crown like the head of the Marija Bambina. A crown of thorns covers the Head of Jesus. Even the word Redeemer reminds us of His great love for us when by His Passion and Death He did more than was necessary for our salvation.
Nonetheless had the statue of Marija Bambina not be crowned in 1921 following a Vatican degree, the church of Senglea would still have been a dear sanctuary to many. A Christian feels his heart beating heavier in front of the statue of the Redeemer than in front of any other crowned statue. Apart from all this, this particular statue in Senglea, for no explainable reason, manages to represent what actually happened 2000 years ago, more than any other similar statue. This is a fact accepted by all. The holy pictures of the Redeemer venerated in Senglea are distributed in their thousands, including to many families of migrants. His pictures are found in many homes, usually with a candle lit up in front of it. The prayer at the back of the holy pictures is recited with great devotion by many Maltese. Many wear the holy medals of the Redeemer. Prayers of intercession are continually being made. Whenever a national pilgrimage is organised and the statue of Jesus the Redeemer is present the attendance is always very big.
I was with Christ on the Cross
The statue of the Redeemer is sometimes called the statue of the Burdened, because He is burdened with a cross and according to ancient tradition on His way to the Golgotha Jesus fell three times because of the heavy cross he was carrying. For us, nowadays the cross is something used as an ornament. We wear silver or gold crosses or wooden ones as is the fashion among youngsters nowadays. But what now is a Christian sign of devotion and which consoles us in our sorrows, was in Roman times a sign of repugnance and of terror, until Jesus was nailed to it.
‘With this sign you will win’ that is what Constantine heard during his battle with Massenzju. So he painted the sign of the cross on the shields of his soldiers, and God helped him to victory, so that Rome could have a decent deserving leader. In Senglea we find the crucifix everywhere in the church and in various Good Friday statues. We do not see it only on the altar but also on the frames of the Way of the Cross which everyday reminds us of the great passion Christ went through so that he showed His great love for us.
Everybody is afraid of a cross even today. Yet none of us are afraid to look at the Cross upon which Our Lord is crucified. The Cross more particularly in Senglea than in other places brings us closer to Our Lord. One of the reasons is the venerated statue of the Redeemer which one sees upon entering the Oratory of the Crucifix. This oratory is the size of a small church. This Oratory has very close connections with the main Fraternity of the parish. This Fraternity, many years ago, joined forces with the Fraternity of Charity. This Fraternity, contrary to most other Fraternities, does not look for silver or golden ornaments on their garb or on their cross and lanterns. This embellishment does not fit the Fraternity which have as its name Christ on the Cross. This Fraternity distinguishes itself from the others, not from its riches but from her charitable and social deeds, even with the dead who could not afford a decent burial. Moreover it distinguishes itself because it remained active, as its deeds testify and because of the closeness the fratelli (members of the fraternity) have with the parish church and the social deeds like of home for the aged Dar Sant’Anna.
In days gone by the cross was a thing to be feared even by looking at it. The cross was used only once for the capital execution of some person who committed some horrible crime. On the used crosses one could trace the hardship the person on it went through during his execution. Tracts of blood, which seeped out of the wounds of the crucified person, could still be seen on the cross even when he was taken off. The scratches which the twisting body made during his agony were clearly visible. The procession of Good Friday in Single reminds us that Jesus changed this instrument of grave torture into a blessed instrument. To be condemned to die on the cross was seen as a great curse, or terrible blot on one’s character. It brought great shame on both the condemned person and his family. Condemned persons were more afraid of the cross than of the death penalty in itself. To die on the cross was a death for the slaves and the worst of hardened criminals.
The followers of Christ were very sad when their Master was crucified. They were greatly disappointed for the fact that the nation which Jesus came primarily to save shouted in unison in front of Pilate: ‘Crucify him’. The Roman Governor himself was taken aback and said: Now it was the Preparation Day for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your king!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ the chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar’. (John 19, 14-15) After: he came into his own, and his own received him not. (John 1, 11), St Paul’s reminds the early Christians that the Cross became a sign of peace because Christ: ‘and that through him he should reconcile to himself all things, whether on the earth or in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross.’ (Colossians, 1, 20).
St Paul said about himself: For I thought the Law have died to the Law that I may live to God. With Christ I am nailed to the cross. (Galatians 1, 19), knew how much the people of his time, including the Christians, used to shake with fright when they though about the cross. When in those days those crucified like Jesus were used as a public warning, it would not come of a surprise that there were some who saw this particular type of crucifixion as a moderate punishment because of other forms of crucifixion used. The harsh application of justice had no limit to its cruelty. A different type of crucifixion than that of Christ was when the condemned instead of opening his arms and having them nailed to the cross, they applied a more cruel form. They used to point a pole to the chest of the condemned person, tie his hands behind his back and stick the pole through his body leaving him their screaming in pain till he dies from loss of blood.
A cross but with Jesus Christ on it
We Christians do not carry the crosses of life on our own. The crosses which follow us throughout our lives, we look at them with Christ on them. This is amply pointed out to us during every Good Friday procession. We have not exact idea when the procession in Senglea started. We know for sure that it is one of the earliest following that of Rabat and Valletta. But the devotion towards the Crucified Christ takes us back more than ever in Senglea. The procession in Senglea dates back three hundred years, yet the devotion to the Crucifix in Senglea dates back to when Senglea and the parish were set up, that is in the middle of the 17th century. A fresco of the Crucified Jesus in the Abbey tad-Dejr in the limits of Rabat show that in those days this devotion was already spreading. In this fresco we see Jesus on the Cross with Our Lady and St John beside Him. This was a model of how the statues of the Crucifixion were made later on.
From the first description of the church in Senglea, since it was declared a parish in 1581, the Crucifix was always on the altar. We can also add that when the Good Friday procession started being organized, we did not have the same number of statues that we have today. In some cases there was only one statue, like at Rabat where they had il-Marbut (Jesus tied to the pillar), which is probably the oldest statue used in Good Friday procession. It is also probable that the statue of the Redeemer is the oldest statue in Senglea. Without any doubt the statue of the Crucifixion with Our Lady and St John by the Cross is the main statue of the procession. No wonder we call it il-Vara l-Kbira (the big statue). This appellative does not apply simply because of the actual size of the statue for the eyes of the people of Malta. There is an exception in Senglea. Here the attention is focused on the statue of the Redeemer. His penetrating look touches the heart of whoever looks at the statue. It seems as if the Redeemer is talking to you and lovingly warns you and invites you to approach Him and look for Him in all your needs.
From death to resurrection
Today more than ever before the solemnity of the feast of Easter is closely linked to the feast of Good Friday. The stations of the Way of the Cross are no longer fourteen but fifteen. We do not stop with the burial of Christ but with His resurrection. The traditional visits of the seven churches carried out on Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday when we commemorate the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ are concluded with a reflection on His resurrection from the death.
Even during the procession of Good Friday, whoever meditates on the death of Christ must similarly meditate also on the truth of the resurrection of Our Lord. Even in Senglea Good Friday and Easter go hand in hand. Even though we do not have the exact information when the procession on Good Friday started, it is obvious that when it was being projected the, thoughts of holding a feast of the Risen Christ was already in the pipeline. This feast, which was stopped for a long time after some incident which took place in 1879, is nowadays held with the same solemnity, pomp and merriment as the same feasts celebrated in Cospicua and Vittoriosa.
The Liturgy does no longer accept black tapestry not even on Good Friday. Christ is the first and leading martyr and so deservedly we use red vestments just like we do for all the other martyrs. Black means death; but red means that He who was killed is still alive. There is nobody, apart from Christ who can say: teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world. (Matthew 28, 20). So nowadays there is no longer the need of that hassle to change from black tapestry once the procession is over. At times all they had to do was remove the black tapestry, the red tapestry used to be hanging up behind it.
In this theological and historical presentation we cannot leave out the meaning of the great joy felt by many Christians during the feast of the Risen Christ. It is very good that the procession of the Risen Christ is held in Senglea, but our joy would be pointless if we do not truly understand what St Paul told us: and if Christ has not risen, vain then is our preaching, vain too is your faith. (1 Corinthians 15, 14). The Rising from the Death of Christ was a sure guarantee that God the Father accepted His death for our salvation. He who with just one deed could save us all, wanted to die a painful death to show His great love for us. When we look up to the statue of the Risen Christ, while it is passing through the streets of Senglea, it should remind us above all the connection there is between His death and our death and therefore His Rising from the death and our eventual rising from the death are interconnected.
All is finished
When we look at the Risen Christ we must not forget the Crucified Christ. Through our faith we must realise the connection there is between life and death. We cannot make too must distinction between each statue while they are passing through the streets. But sure enough all stations lead to the Crucifixion. In Senglea when we look at the Crucifixion we remember the part artists Saverio Laferla and Karlu Darmanin played in making this statue, but the Crucifix reminds us to reflect on one of the seven phrases Jesus said while on the Cross. When Christ spoke for the sixth time He said: It is consummated’. This expression had nothing to do with the phrase ‘all is finished’ as translated in English for the film Jesus Christ Super Star. It does not mean all is finished; it means that Jesus had accomplished the full plan of salvation He came out to do. He achieved all that His Father wanted of Him for our redemption.
Tradition and Easter
In Senglea there is a mixture of tradition and new things. The Good Friday statues are still the traditional eight. Many new personalities from the Old and New Testament have been introduced. Among them there are Abraham and Melchisedec who represent Christ. But in Senglea’s procession we find represented those who were nearest to Christ during His Passion. We have the sinners Barabbas and Judas Iscariot. There is the symbol of authority; both civic and of the Sanhedrin, like Pilate and Caiphas. There are those who met Christ and accepted Him but who not always recognised who He really was. We have Pilate’s wife, Simon the Cyrenian, Nicodemus and many Roman and Jewish soldiers. There are those who loved Him but got lost along the way, like the Apostles. There are those, who during the years, attacked Christ and His Church, represented by the elders of the people. Senglea was the first to include women in the procession. Apart from a good number of Jewish women, we find Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas.
The children, boys and girls, carry the symbols and quotations from the Bible and other messages from the Word of God. They show us that the procession is not just a parade passing by. If we silently observe all the participants, read the quotations from the Bible and meditate on Our Lord who is present in each and every statue, we will surely return home changed persons.
Everybody knows that one day he must die. But if we believe and we have a good look at Jesus Christ we should console ourselves in His words which tie together death and resurrection. The words that Christ solemnly told Marta following the death of her brother Lazarus: I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he die, shall live; and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die. Dost thou believe this? (John 11, 25-26) are more felt on Good Friday when these words penetrating deep into our hearts.
Rabat, Malta Friday, 2nd April 1999 Solemn Remembrance of the Passion of Our Lord
Fr. Alexander Bonnici o.f.m. conv.
|