What meaning does the mystery of God dying on a cross have for the men and women of our times? In that supreme sacrifice, God took upon himself all our faults. He asks us to have the courage to live as he did, out of love for the world. From a text by Pasquale Foresi. “How could Jesus have suffered being separated, even abandoned, by the Father, if he was the Son of God, indeed God himself? Let’s try to delve, at least a little, into what could have happened to Jesus at that moment in his passion, when he felt the pain of being forsaken by his Father. In fact, Jesus personally experienced being far from God. He was able to reach that point because he was a human being, and therefore, united to all humankind. There, on the cross, all of us, each and every one of us, were present in Jesus, because of the mysterious plan of God by which he willed that all humanity be summed up in Jesus. At that moment, all our sufferings and all our faults were taken up by him and made his own. He then turned to the Father and said, “Into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46). In that moment, everything was truly accomplished and all our sins were forgiven. Therefore, if we as Christians are called to re-live Christ, we have to live what he lived. And, in a totally unique way, Christ lived the redemption of the human race. Therefore, for us, re-living Jesus crucified and forsaken means making his sentiments our own. Indeed, it means much more. It means allowing the suffering-love that Jesus lived on the cross to live again in us, so that we too may take part in the completion of his passion and share his glory with him.”

Pasquale Foresi

God calls us (published in Citta’ Nuova magazine 1974, pp 58-61)