The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross which falls on September 14 holds a special significance in my life. A year ago on this feastday, I was celebrating my own victory of the cross. I clearly remember how I sat in thanksgiving and adoration at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice in U.P. gazing at the crucifix that hang from the chapel's dome. To me, this crucifix with the dying Christ on one side and the resurrected Christ on the other side was the most precise symbol of resurrection over death, triumph amidst trials and tribulations, light engulfing darkness and life conquering death... until yesterday. Yesterday, my soul sisters (S. Marty, Ting Yabes, Norie Pangilinan, Celia Villanueva) and I left Manila at 6AM for a pilgrimage to a monastery in Tarlac. We were told that a relic of the true Cross of Christ is enshrined there. As we drove through Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac, we had so many questions... Where is the monastery, how and why was it built... is the relic really a part of Christ's Cross?... can we touch it?...
We were met by our guides, Fraters Joseph and Thomas, at the San Sebastian Cathedral of Tarlac. From there, we drove inward towards the heart of Tarlac through meandering roads passing through Irish looking countrysides of green patches of rice fields, orchards, lakes, hills and trees.
Driving up a mountain, we were finally welcomed by a 33-ft image of the risen Christ (a la-Rio de Janeiro) and another image of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal beside a huge round boulder. Nestled in the mountain were the medieval castles of the monastery: Fr. Archie's castle, the guests' hermitages and the sisters' dormitories. Finally at a clearing on top of the mountain, a most amazing pilgrim site came to view. There was a chapel, a plaza, a pavilion and Gregorian chants wafted in the air. You can almost breathe in the holiness of the place!
After a simple merienda with Fr. Archie and Sr. Ann Margaret, we were given a tour of the monastery... All my favorite words came into play to describe the place: sanctuary, solemnity, serenity, silence, simplicity, solitude...
The Servants of the Risen Christ (SRC) Monastic Community was founded on September 14, 1998 by Fr. Ronald Thomas "Archie" Cortez in Ramos, Tarlac. It is an apostolic monastic community of monks living in prayer, works and service. Starting 2000, the structures of Monasterio de Tarlac in San Jose were built. Providentially for the monks, the government of Tarlac developed the Tarlac Eco-Park and campsite making it possible for the monastery to have a paved road from Tarlac City leading to the site.
Again through Divine Providence, something much greater than the establishment of the community nor the building of the monastery structures was to be the destiny of the SRC community. In the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany where Fr. Archie was invited as a guest, he was named custodian of the Holy Relic of the True Cross of Christ by Msgr. Volker Bauer. It is by God's grace and not just a coincidence that such an important event as being gifted this most precious relic took place. Msgr Bauer found in Fr. Archie the perfect custodian for the fragment of Christ's Cross. It was in January 30, 2007 that the relic which was brought all the way from the Diocese of Essen in Germany to Tarlac was consecrated and enshrined by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, His Excellency Fernando Feloni along with bishops and priests from the Philippines.
The relic is now encased in a silver arqueta or reliquary engraved with symbols associated with the Crucifixion - a pair of dice, Christ's garment, hammer and nails, ladder, crown of thorns. On it is the papal seal to prove its authenticity. The arqueta is located under the altar of the chapel of the Monasterio de Tarlac. Everyone is welcomed to venerate the relic and are allowed to touch the arqueta daily. However, the relic is exposed for veneration only on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross or every September 14.
Now going back to our pilgrimage... We had the rare opportunity of joining Fr. Archie and the fraters in chanting the midday prayers in the chapel. We brought with us our crucifixes, pieces of cloth, scapulars and rosaries which we hoped to rub on the reliquary... to make them into second-class relics... At the end of the liturgy of the hours, the iron grill gate separating the altar from the pews was opened. The gospel from Isaiah was read and then we were allowed to fall in line to venerate the relic.
It was a very sacred and personal moment for each of us as we reflected, prayed and venerated. Tears began streaming down our cheeks as we silently knelt and touched the reliquary. I don't know what brought tears to my friends' eyes. But for me, all I can think of is about how sorry I am for being such a wretched sinner and that I have caused all the wounds in His Body and Countenance. I prayed and begged for mercy. I prayed for the people I loved. I prayed for souls, I asked for graces. There was so much more I wanted to say and pray for... I offered a red rose and as I bowed for my last prayer of thanksgiving, He spoke to me in my heart through the song wafting in the air... "I LOVE YOU (LEI) AND YOU ARE MINE!"
It was such a grace-filled moment at the foot of the Cross, with Our Sorrowful Mother, all the angels and saints. At this instant and in my heart, soul and mind, I found myself kissing and wiping His wounds. I was consoling Our Lady. Yet I was the one whose wounds and sinfulness was mercifully forgiven and healed. I was the one being consoled and loved. It was unbearably overwhelming.
And so here I am, in the holy presence of this fragment of the wood that was His Cross. What a precious precious gift. The symbol which I held dearly in my heart, the crucifix at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice in U.P., found much more meaning and significance in this fragment of a wood...
And so I pray: "We adore You O Christ, and we bless You because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world."
