VATICAN CITY, SEP 15, 2002 (VIS) - This afternoon before praying the Angelus with pilgrims and faithful in the courtyard of Castelgandolfo, the Pope spoke about today's feast of Our Lady, Virgin of Sorrows and yesterday's feast, the Exaltation of the Cross.
John Paul II said that these two liturgical memorials "invite us to make a spiritual pilgrimage to Calvary. They inspire us to join the Virgin Mary in contemplating the mystery of the cross."
After recalling that "the main symbol of Christianity is the cross," he affirmed: "Wherever the Gospel has taken root, the cross indicates the presence of Christians. In churches and homes, hospitals, schools and cemeteries, the cross has become the sign par excellence of a culture that obtains truth and liberty, confidence and hope from Christ's message."
"In the process of secularization which characterizes a great part of the contemporary world," he continued, "it is more important than ever that believers focus their gaze on this central sign of revelation and discover its original and true meaning."
The Holy Father indicated that "also today, according to the school of the old Fathers, the Church presents the cross to the world as a 'symbol of life,' in which the ultimate and full sense of each life and all of history can be discovered."
"Since Jesus made the Cross an instrument of universal salvation, it is not a symptom anymore of misfortune but of blessing. ... In a word, the cross is the supreme symbol of love. For this reason, young Christians carry it with pride on their paths in the world, leaving all their worries and hopes for freedom, justice and peace to Christ."
After greeting those present in different languages, the Pope entrusted to the Sorrowful Virgin "young people and families, nations and all of humanity. I invoke her in a special way for the sick and all those who suffer, for innocent victims of injustice and violence, for Christians persecuted for their faith. May Christ's glorious Cross be for everyone a sign of hope, redemption and peace!"
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