The masculine piety of soldiers of the Spanish Foreign Legion

 

Every year in Malagá in the morning of Holy Thursday there is a ceremony known as El Traslado del Cristo de Mena (The Transfer of the Christ of Mena) where members of the Spanish Foreign Legion carry El Cristo de la Buena Muerte (The Christ of a Good Death). They sing El Novio de la Muerte (Death’s Bridegroom; lyrics in Spanish and English here) while carrying the very large and heavy crucifix.

This is not a hymn but a song written in 1921 by Fidel Prado Duque (lyrics) and Juan Costa Casals (music). It tells of the death of a soldier in battle, one who is very aware of the possibility of death in action. The Spanish Foreign Legion adopted it as their anthem and slow march. While the Legion now has women soldiers, the crucifix is carried by men.

As a man I find this procession very moving, an expression of masculine piety, soldiers identifying themselves with the Crucified Jesus, ready to lay down their lives for others. 

We are now celebrating the Easter Octave but without the Crucified Christ there would be no Easter.

St Longinus

Bernini (Web Gallery of Art)

And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[a] breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!' (Mark 15:39).

According to tradition St Longinus was the soldier who pierced the side of the dead Jesus with his lance and who uttered the words recorded by Mark, Truly this man was the Son of God. While there seems to be no solid foundation for the tradition, there is no doubt about the words of the centurion, recorded in slightly different ways by St Matthew and St Luke.

Soldiers of the Defence Forces of Ireland have been engaged in UN peace-keeping in a number of countries since 1955. In some places they have served side by side with soldiers from Fiji. Please pray for all peacekeepers.