Cross in the quarantine

It has been to many places. It has witnessed deepened prayers. It has given news about the Eucharistic Congress. Crowds were and are waiting for its arrival. In these past two years, the Mission Cross has been travelling almost 50 thousands kilometres. It has been wandering from diocese to diocese, from church to church. Now it has stopped and was put into a quarantine, just like the rest of the world. We cannot be close to the Cross neither today, on Good Friday, nor at Easter. We can only wait and hope for a change to come.

Plenty of coordination, organisation were (and are still) needed so that the Cross can travel smoothly and safely. Alexandra Hortenzia Nagy has been organizing the journey of the Mission Cross for more than a year. This task is at the very centre of her heart. She has contacts with priests and parish churches, carries out consultation with the silversmith if a new relic is added to the Cross or if it has to be restored. Alexandra joined the Cross on its (temporarily) last journey to Prague. ’When the truck with the Mission Cross arrived, the priest, the altar boys and the people, all had been waiting in front of the church. As the truck door opened, it was truly touching to see all those faces. Everyone knew what was inside the truck, still, they experienced something very different than what they had expected. I did not travel by accident to Prague, it was unbelievable to see how people welcomed the Mission Cross. I was truly happy that I could have been part of this amazing experience’, Alexandra says.

In these last couple of weeks, difficulties, self-sacrifice and the subordination of our priorities to a greater good have appeared stronger than ever in our everyday life. As if coronavirus wanted us to join a ’course repetition’ on basic human and Christian values. We had to stop just alike the Mission Cross to realize that nothing has ever been granted, an obstacle, a task, an event might occur any time making us go beyond ourselves.

“It is possible that humanity has reached a point where God asks us to stop for a moment and let us think over our relationship with Him, with each other and with the whole world. Maybe it’s time to revaluate our lives and to restart. It’s heart-warming to see that even the elderly fathers search the technological possibilities so that they can keep in touch with the people who cannot go to church right now. I think this proves that personal presence is not so important. God does not count how many times we go to church since we can speak to Him anytime, anywhere. It doesn’t count where we are. I dare to say, that now much more people join the online masses than that of those going actually to church on a regular basis. There are many people intending to go to church, but they simply have no time for it. Now the ’service’ is right at their doorstep, thus far more people can be reached. This is one of the main values of the Mission Cross as well: to reach those who otherwise would not be able to reach it”, Alexandra Hortenzia Nagy emphasizes.

The depths of these thoughts are well proven by the story of the customs officer who, upon realizing at the Hungarian border what the truck was carrying, fell on his knees and prayed in front of the Mission Cross lying in the rear of the car. Later he was eager to tell the driver how happy he was that Providence cared for him. ’The Cross stayed at one place for one, two or three days. This year it went to Bratislava as well. When it was already packed, ready to be put back to the truck, some of the people from church climbed into the rear of the car and prayed while the driver was fastening the safety belts around the Cross. Last year, we took it to several Greek Catholic churches. People were waiting by the town borders and accompanied the truck to the church. The Mission Cross spent a weekend in Zagreb. The relic of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac was put on the cross. All the Croatian bishops and archbishops attended the mass. The church was so crowded that one could not move. In Prague, we went through the Stations of the Cross on the mass, and the archbishop of Prague asked us to thank God for the presence of the Mission Cross. We queued one by one, hundreds of us, and everyone did it in his or her own way. It was a truly indescribable experience. For me, even standing in the last row was elevating’, Alexandra remembers.

When we are given a task, we try to solve it. We carry our problems on our shoulders. Difficulties are inevitable in life. These are the situations when for a shorter or longer time, we cannot see the solution or the way out. But we should never forget: the crosses are ready made, tailored exactly for us. We can gain strength from carrying it, from the new experiences we learn and we can go stronger by the knowledge that Providence gives us tasks for a reason, it gives us duties that are the tests of our will, strength and faith, and provides further evidence that there is always something to draw strength from.

Due to the quarantine, Mission Cross cannot travel to a lot of places, though many more parishes were about to receive it. Therefore, it will continue its journey after the Congress as well. Until now, it has been the means of preparation, afterwards will become the means of experience sharing. Today, it is lonely and is waiting in Esztergom. This moment it cannot unite and invite people for the Congress. This Holy Week is different from the previous ones. Formalities are missing this year. Now it’s only us and our closest family members – at home. Maybe this is what we need now. An honest soul-searching. So by the time the Cross starts again its journey, we can step out from the quarantine with a calm heart, as different persons.

Gyarmati Orsolya/NEK Secretariat

Photo: Ambrus Marcsi/NEK Secretariat