“When all seems lost, a voice invites us to continue the journey, to take steps, to lift our gaze, to have faith”. Ego Vici Mundum literally “I have conquered the world” is a quotation from the Gospel carved on one of the vaults of the church of S. Ignazio di Loyola in Rome and an invitation to discern between good and evil.
It is from this exhortation that I want to start to reflect on the Easter period.
The literal meaning of the term Easter, whether it is translated from the Greek “pascha” or from the Aramaic “pasah”, unequivocally always indicates the same purpose: to go further Whether we commemorate the exodus of the people of Israel to freedom described in the second book of the Old Testament, or the resurrection of Christ defeating death treated in the Gospels, it is evident that both celebrate a particular moment of transition, from slavery, sin and suffering to complete redemption.
Never, as today, has this spiritual message coming from the past, through more than two thousand years of history, affirms its relevance with formidable vigor.
Living with faith, that is, with the awareness that the evils that afflict the human spirit can be overcome, already represents the first step in proceeding in the right direction.
This is precisely the message of Easter, an incitement to discover a renewed conviction in our creed, where trust and hope promote, like Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross, our “passing by”.
To the students of the Gabelli School of Business and of Fordham University, I would like to address a special exhortation so that their young and enthusiastic spirit, looking to the future, is oriented, in this period full of difficulties but also of opportunities, to the achievement of their goals with commitment and dedication. Despite the succession of critical phases that severely condition the current global trend, with conflicts, economic crises, environmental disasters and more, I encourage the new generations to make their choices with a positive attitude.
It is of fundamental importance that young people believe in the future, in the possibility of changing things for the better, by adopting a more universal “new language”, which favors relationships and not prevarication; that is able to create cohesion among men, without erecting walls.
In this regard, I want to recall that Ignatian discernment comes to meet us by proposing itself as an extraordinarily effective tool, capable of making us make more appropriate choices both in the personal and professional spheres.
Let us not be discouraged by adversity, leadership is also resilience, that innate “evolutionary” ability of man which allows him to adapt to the adversities he is often subjected to, without giving up and without weakening his pioneering spirit. The society in which we live, so challenging, so complex, sees us as witnesses of some dramatic events that inevitably involve the whole community.
On this Christian anniversary, the sense of the word “sacrifice” takes on a particular meaning for me: commitment. I am sure that the determination, motivation and sense of responsibility of future generations will be able to build a better balance, without compromises, that is, without lowering their heads in the face of life’s evils, confident that the light of hope will always be on.