Dear Virgin of the Scapular,
I have to say that our humble brother and great worker Luigi Poggi so many years ago, when he thought of you and manufactured you, leaned on his personal devotion, expressing the sense of beauty: and this year it is one hundred and once you come down from Mount , sweet, maternal and protective.
Even your son in your left arm looks at us with pleasure, carrying like you in his hand the ancient gift of the scapular, a sign of consecration and devotion for all who love you and welcome you.
This year, with this pandemic that with so much pain is discovering our fragility, you will not find the usual squad and the crowd that admired you on the streets, there will be no flags or drums that so much grace the Christian scouts with their multiform and colorful uniforms have always given you accompanied. There will also be a lack of volunteers who feel privileged to pull the ropes of your mobile pedestal; you will not hear the prayers whispered devoutly by the festive people; You will also miss the voices of the seminarians with their songs, the red robes of the bishops and the veils of the religious in prayer procession.
Now it is up to you not only to pass through the streets of the deserted Christian neighborhoods of Haifa, but to enter into their houses: caress the children, give comfort to the sick and the elderly, console the sorrows of the families, give hope to who are on trial. Bless the love of the married couples, say evangelical and encouraging words to young people who have an uncertain future, give a smile to those who have lost it for too long. Each door, each house remains open so that you can enter as a pilgrim and guest of blessing.
As you can see, your mission among us is not lost, it has not diminished, and it cannot be stopped by any negative event. Rather, this hard time for all increases your Mother’s request to us: you know how to take care of us, how to direct our prayers to your Son so that you can take them to the Father, how to help us raise our eyes to heaven with that trust in God that from your youth you have expressed with so much courage.
So we wish you a good journey among us and we thank you with the devotion of your children.
Amen.
