A character in the Gospel provides a particular point of view to understand the image of our Lord: Martha of Bethany. She was a woman of service, a woman of faith, and one of the closest friends of Jesus during His time on Earth.
On that October dawn in 2002, very early and with barely any sleep, a group of college students and I had approached St. Peter’s Square to partake in the ceremony in the open air.
Once a terrible sign of death and punishment, the Cross became a sign of love and peace through the power of Our Savior. On September 14th, we step into that conversion to commemorate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Turning to our Mother to venerate her, mirroring what the heavenly courts do, is a delightful duty: all generations will call me blessed. And seeking her maternal protection guarantees success: to Jesus, we go and return through Mary.
St. Josemaria immersed himself in the Scriptures as another character, making of them his own life.
Let us set the scene. I picture Jesus sitting by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, with Capernaum in the backdrop on a somewhat bitter evening.
