Mar 30, 2026 Written by 

From outside to inside

«Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?» (Jn 20:15)

 

Mary of Magdala wept for her Lord near the tomb. Lost and grieving, she grieved not knowing where he was, until Jesus made himself present.

Clare too, in the enclosure of San Damiano, wept while praying for her Christ, uniting herself to his Passion, while awaiting the Resurrection.

In the Legend we read:

"She had now fixed in the Light the burning gaze of inner desire and, having transcended the sphere of human vicissitudes, she opened wide the field of her spirit to the rain of Grace.

[...] Very often, prostrate in prayer with her face to the ground, she bathed the ground with tears and brushed it with kisses: so that she seemed always to have her Jesus in her arms, whose feet she bathed with tears, on whom she pressed kisses" (FF 3197).

Clare inwardly sought the Lord, even for those who did not desire Him.

She was careful not to hold back Christ who was ascending to the Father, living the announcement of the Resurrection with a face of light, testifying to the present vision of Him to the brothers and sisters who approached her.

He lived the perennial earthly Exodus in view of the Promised Land, which he already savoured in small doses.

Francis, for his part, jester of the Resurrection, mourned the Passion of Love, corroborated by existential rebirth.

Again, in St Bonaventure's Major Legend:

"To those who saw him, he seemed a man from another world: one who, his mind and face always turned to heaven, strove to draw all upwards" (FF 1072).

Just as Mary of Magdala made the transition from outside (near the tomb) to inside her own soul - to recognise the Risen Jesus.

So Francis, after living on the outside, among cheerful Assisian brigades, had encountered the «Rabbuni» within his heart.  Recognising and deciphering the Master of his life, in prayer before the Crucifix of San Damiano.

There finding God, he found himself again; in the midst of weeping and perfect joy.

Jesus also asked him the question: «Why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?» (Jn 20:15).

The Damianite Crucifix became the place of his resurrection, where the tears of a missed life, spent in solace, gave way to the Calling by name, in view of a personal and communitarian regeneration.

At Saint Damian, when a divine Voice came to him from the Crucifix inviting him to change his life, the Poor Man uttered this prayer

«Rapture, I pray thee, O Lord,

the burning and sweet power of your love

my mind from all things that are under heaven,

that I might die for love of thy love,

As thou hast deigned to die

for love of my love» (FF 277).

 

 

Octave of Easter Tuesday  (Jn 20:11-18)

210 Last modified on Monday, 30 March 2026 05:24
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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Divisions among Christians, while they wound the Church, wound Christ; and divided, we cause a wound to Christ: the Church is indeed the body of which Christ is the Head (Pope Francis)
Le divisioni tra i cristiani, mentre feriscono la Chiesa, feriscono Cristo, e noi divisi provochiamo una ferita a Cristo: la Chiesa infatti è il corpo di cui Cristo è capo (Papa Francesco)
The glorification that Jesus asks for himself as High Priest, is the entry into full obedience to the Father, an obedience that leads to his fullest filial condition [Pope Benedict]
La glorificazione che Gesù chiede per se stesso, quale Sommo Sacerdote, è l'ingresso nella piena obbedienza al Padre, un'obbedienza che lo conduce alla sua più piena condizione filiale [Papa Benedetto]
All this helps us not to let our guard down before the depths of iniquity, before the mockery of the wicked. In these situations of weariness, the Lord says to us: “Have courage! I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33). The word of God gives us strength [Pope Francis]
Tutto questo aiuta a non farsi cadere le braccia davanti allo spessore dell’iniquità, davanti allo scherno dei malvagi. La parola del Signore per queste situazioni di stanchezza è: «Abbiate coraggio, io ho vinto il mondo!» (Gv 16,33). E questa parola ci darà forza [Papa Francesco]
It does not mean that the Lord has departed to some place far from people and from the world. Christ's Ascension is not a journey into space toward the most remote stars […] Christ's Ascension means that he no longer belongs to the world of corruption and death that conditions our life. It means that he belongs entirely to God (Pope Benedict)
Non vuol dirci che il Signore se ne è andato in qualche luogo lontano dagli uomini e dal mondo. L’Ascensione di Cristo non è un viaggio nello spazio verso gli astri più remoti […] L’Ascensione di Cristo significa che Egli non appartiene più al mondo della corruzione e della morte che condiziona la nostra vita. Significa che Egli appartiene completamente a Dio (Papa Benedetto)
«When the servant of God is troubled, as it happens, by something, he must get up immediately to pray, and persevere before the Supreme Father until he restores to him the joy of his salvation. Because if it remains in sadness, that Babylonian evil will grow and, in the end, will generate in the heart an indelible rust, if it is not removed with tears» (St Francis of Assisi, FS 709)
«Il servo di Dio quando è turbato, come capita, da qualcosa, deve alzarsi subito per pregare, e perseverare davanti al Padre Sommo sino a che gli restituisca la gioia della sua salvezza. Perché se permane nella tristezza, crescerà quel male babilonese e, alla fine, genererà nel cuore una ruggine indelebile, se non verrà tolta con le lacrime» (san Francesco d’Assisi, FF 709)
Wherever people want to set themselves up as God they cannot but set themselves against each other. Instead, wherever they place themselves in the Lord’s truth they are open to the action of his Spirit who sustains and unites them (Pope Benedict
Dove gli uomini vogliono farsi Dio, possono solo mettersi l’uno contro l’altro. Dove invece si pongono nella verità del Signore, si aprono all’azione del suo Spirito che li sostiene e li unisce (Papa Benedetto)
But our understanding is limited: thus, the Spirit's mission is to introduce the Church, in an ever new way from generation to generation, into the greatness of Christ's mystery (Pope Benedict)

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