Beside stone crosses, we find other forms of carved stones intended to mark territories or to stir devotion. Sometimes we might find a large stone on a wall with a triangular pediment, engraved with the initials ‘GR’ and a royal crown. These markings refer to King George V or, more likely, King George VI of England.

In some areas, we find busts made from stone that represent a soul in Purgatory enveloped in flames. These are usually found close to cemeteries or in places where cemeteries once stood. Sometimes, they are found in the countryside, possibly marking a boundary, much like the ‘Dejma’ Crosses did. Whatever the case, these statues remind us of our brethren who are in Purgatory and need our prayers to be purified of their sins, and join the Saints in eternal bliss. Some of these busts have indulgences attached to them that can be offered for the Souls in Purgatory.

Apart from our Christian duty to ardently pray for these Souls, these countryside busts remind us of our own death, which will surely come, although we do not know when. “Memento Mori!” Remember that one day you will die! When we used to attend catechism classes as children, especially at the Society of Christian Doctrine M.U.S.E.U.M. centres, we frequently were reminded of the Last Things. St George Preca strongly emphasised that those who frequently thought about death, judgement, hell and Heaven would never sin.

It’s somewhat out of fashion to speak about the harsh reality of death, probably out of a blind faith in science and technological advances that look upon death just as a technical problem that still needs to be solved, rather than as an integral part of the cycle of life. It could also be the consequence of a lack of real faith in eternal life, where death instils fear of the unknown to the extent that we attempt to escape it at all costs.

In Maltese, someone who finds himself alone is sometimes described as a soul in Purgatory. And how true this is! Despite being unavoidable and very normal, the fear of death imprisons us or persistently keeps us rushing to and fro, escaping ourselves by enjoying this life because it is the only one we know of. But St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds us that, as Christians, our hope lies in that which “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the human heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9).
It is true that the journey and the pilgrimage can make you feel isolated at times. You may feel that you are struggling alone with your interior phantoms and conflicts. You feel misunderstood, even by those with whom you share life’s pilgrimage. But we are never lonely pilgrims—even if you set out on this pilgrimage alone—because Christian hope is vibrant and enlightens the pilgrim’s life, while it uncovers the face of our companions on the road. Hope liberates us from our individualistic isolation and incorporates us into the journey in communion with the People of God.

Hope frees us form self-reliance to centre our lives in Christ, and from there we reach out to those who are on the peripheries. We would truly be the Church—the family of Christ—that accompanies those who are weary, a Church that is patient, a Church that extends her hand to console and heal … in other words, a pilgrim Church that accompanies people. In this way, this pilgrimage will truly be a spiritual experience of the presence of the Risen Christ who gathers us together into one fold under one shepherd.

Isaiah 40: The Book of Consolation

¹Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”