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by Roberto Montoya 04 April 2020

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. Christians are preparing to experience the most important moment of the year that begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, riding a donkey towards the descent from the Mount of Olives. A procession of people preceded the race throwing carpets, waving palm and olive branches. A solemn entrance, but in a simple way, full of joy and, at the same time, of pain, cheers and humiliation, with festive shouts and, then, fierce fury.

This will be a different Easter, dictated by the emergence of the Coronavirus on a planetary level. A program of celebrations that this year changes: it omits the procession, the blessing and the distribution of the olive branches, but calls for an Easter lived in the intimacy of our homes. A moment of contemplation, prayer and thanksgiving, in which eloquent silence becomes the protagonist, far from our normal lives.

Pope Francis calls Jesus "... the faithful friend who gives us support and comfort in the midst of the tribulations of life". Urges to be consistent and persevering in the little; invites us to deepen the sense of our loyalty, so that our purposes are not lights that shine only for a few moments; to be patient with the mystery of a heart that puts us in strong contrast, capable of doing good, but also evil. It is an invitation to triumph with Christ, that of the Pontiff, to remove everything that separates us and prevents us from accompanying him to the cross. He chooses a tied donkey as a throne, who becomes glorious not because of his abilities, but because someone has given him freedom.

Precisely the birth of Jesus reveals to us the fact that he was someone like us, who worked, thought, acted and loved with a human heart, in all similar to us, except in sin. With his Passion he destroys the temptation to triumphalism; that evil that tries to approach the goal through shortcuts, avoiding the cross, and that aims to get on the winner's cart. A triumphalism present even in the most subtle forms of spiritual worldliness which becomes the most perfidious temptation that threatens the Church.

What a difference - comments San Bernardo - “between the cry“ Crucify him, crucify him! And the acclamation "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"! What a difference between calling him now "King of Israel" and, a few days later, saying: "We have no other King than Caesar"! What a difference between the green branches and the cross, between the flowers and the thorns! Those who first put their clothes on him, shortly afterwards undress him of his own and cast lots for them ”.

A holy week that leads us to open up and let God, with his love, with his affection, change us and make us better men, precisely starting from our mistakes. It will be the least isolated Easter of our life, we can decide to make ourselves felt, that is, to make our affection, our understanding and closeness feel more precisely in a moment that seems impossible, giving rise to a good from all this.



We met Don Carlo De Marchi, vicar of the prelature of Opus Dei for central and southern Italy. Don Carlo we are approaching Easter, with what spirit today can we welcome the triumph of Jesus in Jerusalem?
We are starting a somewhat particular Holy Week, in some ways strange, because we are in a pandemic climate. The pandemic seems to us a huge thing, never seen or experienced before. But the most interesting aspect is to realize that the pandemic is not something bigger than Holy Week: what Jesus started to do starting from Palm Sunday is bigger, and he lived it once and for all. All the sufferings of the history of humanity, the stories of each of us, are part of that history, even this pandemic that seems so immense to us. In fact, from this Sunday we begin to relive what made everything sensible, even evil, the mystery of pain.

Pope Francis during his homily said that Jesus is a friend who supports us and never disappoints us. But in the time of the Coronavirus how can we interpret this message?
I think that all our anxieties, sufferings, anxieties due to the pandemic are not looked at by God as if he were a kind of race judge who measures our performance or even worse who is there to evaluate how much we suffer, as if our suffering was a good thing. Jesus himself, in the Garden of Olives, began to experience "fear, sadness and anguish". So we shouldn't think that our anxieties are something that shouldn't be there. Indeed ... I think try a little; anxiety today is a symptom of good health. Certainly there is the concern of a father or mother of a family who see work problems on the horizon, economic problems, not to mention health problems. God is not there to look at us, because our sufferings, but are part of that anguish of Jesus in the Garden of Olives.

What is the fear that chases us most in this pandemic?
In this moment we are forced to be alone with ourselves and to truly wade what is worth in our life. This scares us and puts us in crisis a little; everyone, even us priests. It is a restlessness that runs through all of society, and therefore also the whole Church. But I also see many priests, parish priests, chaplains who find new ways to be close to many people. There are streaming, put on the roof of the rectory, podcasts with catechesis, comfort calls. I also see many families who support each other, because it is important to understand that the Church is not made only by priests. The Church is first of all lay people, all families. I see birthday celebrations or family moments via Zoom, via Meet ... they are different ways to live the communion of Saints.

Precisely the Prefect of the Dicastery for the laity, family and life expressed itself in this sense ...
In a beautiful speech, Cardinal Farrell said "... that we feel alone, isolated but it is precisely in this isolation that the Holy Spirit suggests that we rediscover the sacrament of marriage". And by virtue of that sacrament, our houses have the constant presence of God, therefore each family truly becomes a small "domestic church". Let us remember that lay people are as much Church as priests, neither more nor less.

How can we better spend our time in the quarantine period?
I think we are called to prioritize relationships, first of all in the home. So try to take better care of the delicacy in relationships. It is difficult ... a friend who has three children during this period told me that the perceived number of children is 14. Then I also think about the relationships between houses, from family to family. However, I believe that the challenge for everyone is to maintain a minimum of discipline and order because otherwise we will feel committed, from morning to night, without however combining much from a practical point of view.

Don Carlo, following Christ involves a certain way of facing life. She asks us to love our enemies, to welcome the poor and the foreigner, to take on permanent family commitments, to avoid the chatter ... Do you think we can do it?
Jesus asks us to follow him with our own life, not only with beautiful words. But I would like to underline another thing: I think that today there is a sign of Christianity, a very urgent fundamental work of mercy, which is sociality, also through the network. The first work of mercy is to speak well, to make the good shine, without speaking only of the pandemic, of the infections, of the problems. I think we need a little imagination on a practical level. We can talk about many other things to give hope, which does not mean to deceive: it is a question of giving a little every day; of encouragement and light to others.

You wrote a book entitled: The good mood formula. How can we cultivate good humor in quarantine?
A good mood is not just the ability to make jokes; humorists are often not happy people. Nor is it a question of playing down the great tragedies we are experiencing: many people, many families, today, are experiencing terrible tragedies. The key to good humor is to train yourself to smile for the small daily tragedies, in front of which one can get angry and angry, or fight nervousness with a little self-irony, knowing how to make fun of yourself and letting your family tease you. It takes more affection in this moment of crisis, more smile, more humility, which also means not taking yourself too seriously. For this it takes a specific training in the family.

How can an opportunity arise from a fall, from a negative event like the one we are experiencing today?
This is the Christian paradox, the revolutionary formula of the Gospel that we relive in this "homemade Holy Week", which Jesus with his life, in his incarnation, becoming a man, dying and resurrecting has shown us. Fall, mistake, fragility, even sin, are occasions for God to manifest his paternal love. And this will also come out of the mystery of pain of this strange period that we are experiencing. Pope Francis often repeats that our sin is the meeting place with the Mercy of God. So there is something good even in the evil that I do, if it becomes an opportunity for openness where I welcome the love of God .