"Come after me." The words of the Gospel of the third Sunday in Ordinary Time seemed chosen to end the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague in the midst of some difficult weeks for the faithful of the Cordovan town of Aguilar de la Frontera.
In spite of the sorrow that this insult to their religious feelings has caused to hundreds of Aguilarenses, the Archconfraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague, Pablo Lora, wanted to rekindle the love for the Cross that is proper to Christians.
For this reason, at the end of the closing Mass of the Novena to this dedication, the priest gave some crosses to the attendees, reminding them of the words of the Gospel read during the Mass: "Take up your cross and follow him."
The priest has highlighted in Omnes that this painful event "has been a revulsive in part, many people have realized the need to defend their faith and their story of Salvation, which is what the Cross means. Defend the cross because it is the sign of our faith and represents our religious sentiments. The cross belongs to Christ, outside of ideologies".
In giving these crosses at the end of the novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague, as the parish priest points out "we remember that we followed Jesus from Child and until his death and resurrection and from the Cross he also invites us to follow him.".
The Barefoot Cross
The town of Aguilar de la Frontera saw, as last January, by order of the City Council was demolished the Cross located next to the Convent of the Barefoot Carmelites. Cross that, as recalled by the parish priest in the letter to his parishioners "had been devoid of any political content for more than thirty years. A whole generation of Aguilarenses has grown up around the Cross as a sign of love and surrender, forgiveness and mercy. I deeply regret that the next generations will be deprived of this precious religious symbol that helps us to build a better world"..
The image of the cross thrown in a rubbish dump has deeply hurt the feelings of these aguilarenses who have participated, as far as possible by health measures, in the acts of atonement made since then. In fact, both from the parish and several individuals, had asked to guard the Cross once removed from the place. This request was not met at any time.
Archconfraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague
As stated in the portal of the diocese of CórdobaThe origin of this brotherhood dates back to 1920. After four decades of his last outing, a group of young people returned to resume the tradition of one of the most important brotherhoods of Aguilar, the hand of a large number of companions, mostly children, who participated in the processional procession.
On January 25, 2015 took place the first procession of this new stage, organized by this group of young people, after re-founding the brotherhood in August 2014, with the support of the Congregation of Carmelite Nuns of the Convent of San José and San Roque de Aguilar and the priests of the town. Since then, there are numerous young people who exalt the Infant Jesus of Prague with the firm purpose of consolidating the recovery of a tradition rooted in Aguilar de la Frontera.
