In his weekly audience April 6, Pope Francis led pilgrims in prayer for the people of Ukraine.
The world is witnessing “ever-more horrendous acts of cruelty done against civilians, unarmed women and children, whose innocent blood cries out to heaven and implores, ‘End this war. Silence the weapons. Stop sowing death and destruction,’” Pope Francis said.
Throughout Holy Week, the whole Church slows down to walk through the most important events of Jesus’ life: His Passion, death and resurrection. On Good Friday, we bear witness to the spilling of our Lord’s innocent blood as we hear Him cry out to heaven: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
It’s easy to want to skip over Good Friday and rush through to the joy of Easter. Even Jesus’ apostles, with the exception of John, deserted Him that day. It’s hard to stand at the foot of the cross.
On March 25, the Archdiocese of St. Louis joined Pope Francis and Catholics around the world in consecrating Russia, Ukraine and all of humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We entrusted the world to our mother’s care — to Mary, who stayed faithfully with her Son through every step of His Passion and death.
The Act of Consecration recalls Mary’s special role:
“Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: ‘Behold your son’ (John 19:26). In this way, He entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, He said: ‘Behold, your Mother’ (John 19:27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ.”
We can’t skip Holy Week. We can’t avoid Good Friday. We can’t turn away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
Instead, we must continue to stand with our mother, Mary, at the foot of the crosses we see in our world today, where she will help sustain us. We return again to the words prayed in the Act of Consecration:
“O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your sorrowful heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.”
As we walk with Jesus this Holy Week, let us also remain with our Blessed Mother as we join our prayers with those experiencing heavy, devastating crosses around the world. Through her intercession, we are able to trust that death does not have the final word; sin and destruction will give way to the triumph of the resurrection.
“We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.”