Being signs and bearers of the overwhelming love of God who is revealed in the face of Jesus, even and indeed especially when his face is disfigured.
That is what lies at the heart of the spirituality of the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has suggested.
Delivering the homily at the Investiture Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday 26 August, Archbishop Costelloe said the Order fostered within its members a particular spirituality and understanding of who Christ is and what He is asking of us.
Referring to the gospel message of bearing witness to the presence of God, even in times of suffering, Archbishop Costelloe said it held particular significance for members of the Order whose spirituality has its foundation in Christ’s Passion, death and resurrection.
“Christianity does not offer an escape from evil or from suffering. On the contrary, (it) invites us to take up our cross every day and follow the Lord, even when that following may lead us to our own Gethsemane and even to our own Calvary,” he said.
Simultaneously, he said Christianity offers “something better” – an absolute assurance that God, His Spirit and His mother is with us in our time of suffering.
“…suffering will not have the last word as long as we remain open, even just a little bit, to the mercy, the compassion, and the healing and strengthening power of Christ,” he added.
“For it is in recognising the love of God in the suffering and death of Jesus that we can also share in the love of God revealed in his resurrection.”
The Order’s foundation in the Passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord was further accentuated during the Vigil Liturgy on Friday 25 August, during which Fr Richard Smith said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was “at the very centre of our Christian and Catholic faith; a place where we celebrate both the crucifixion and the empty tomb – the resurrection.”
“Brothers and sisters,” he continued, “you and I are connected to this place – to Jerusalem. We were originally established to guard that place, to be part of its chapter, to look after pilgrims, and to care for those in need.”
“We have a particular and very special responsibility that is cited on the most important building in the whole of Christendom; the place where Jesus was crucified and the place from where He rose from the dead.
“And so, we celebrate our belonging to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; we celebrate the fact that we are given a charge to care, to be generous, to offer service, to be present to one another and, as we are able, to be present to the place also,” he added.
Supporting Christian communities in the Holy Land is the focus of the ancient Order whose origins date back to the First Crusade and the founding of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre.
In Australia, the Order was established in Perth in 1985.
In February 1996, Pope John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law.
