The Christian Cross is a simple T-shaped symbol. For years I viewed it as primarily representing an event that occurred in the distant past, and then one day my personal perspective on the Cross was forever changed. My story began years ago in Umbria, Italy. I was traveling alone and intended to spend the day paying homage to St. Francis of Assisi, who is one of my favorite Catholic Saints. As I taxied from the train station, my Italian driver misunderstood my drop-off request and delivered me to a parking area several miles above the town. After a short walk down a gentle and meandering path, I arrived at a place called “The Hermitage of Carceri.” Sacred is the only word that comes to mind as I attempt to describe the specialness of this place. Here, I entered a series of limestone caves that were often frequented by St. Francis and some of his chosen followers. They would come here to retreat from their highly materialistic society and immerse themselves in the quiet stillness of Nature, prayer and meditation. From their numerous writings, one can assume that this was a place where they would often experience moments of deeply spiritual insights, and have the type of profound experiences that usually happen to those that we call Mystics.
After I departed from The Hermitage, I followed the various trails that wove through this Umbrian hillside. Each step took me past numerous Crosses which all added to the sacredness of this special place. Crafted from the forest floor, these Crosses seemed to speak to both my mind and heart. As I looked at them, I started to perceive the idea that each line of the Cross represented a type of Energy. Recalling the principle of superposition from Newtonian science, I remembered that when two forces act in opposite directions, they subtract from each other. Thus, if one force is stronger than the other, the net force will be the difference between the two forces. Wow, I thought to myself, what if science and spirituality share a common ground in understanding this principle! Then as I once again studied the Crosses, I could clearly imagine that the two perpendicular sticks represented opposite lines of living energy, and if superposition holds true, then the Cross represents an incredibly powerful way of creating an unconditional Peace!
As the setting sun called me back to the parking area, my mind began to echo the following concept that mimics the famous The Prayer of St. Francis: “When you encounter the energy of hatred, you can negate its power by responding with an equal or greater Love; When you encounter the energy of fear, you can eliminate its grasp by meeting it with the energy of Faith; And when you see the symptoms of despair, you can release its grasp by channeling an eternal Hope.” Now, years later, this concept of consciously using “the opposite energy” as a response to what I will call a negative encounter continues to inspire me. It is a technique that allows me to maintain my integrity, regardless of who or what I encounter. And for those many times that I am forgetful and/or fall out of this practice, I am forever grateful to the unknown author who so perfectly wrote down this timeless Formula for Peace…
The Prayer of St. Francis.
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow Love;
Where there is injury, Pardon;
Where there is doubt, Faith;
Where there is despair, Hope;
Where there is darkness, Light;
Where there is sadness, Joy!
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not seek to be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love with all my soul. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”