Behold the Cross
“Because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.” So goes the response before each reflection in the St. Francis of Assisi Stations of the Cross, recited at Catholic Churches throughout the country on Fridays during the Catholic liturgical season of Lent. I was reminded of these words recently when reflecting on some current crosses in my own life. If you carry a cross, a life burden, or an overbearing difficulty for an extended period of time, count yourself blessed. That seems very contradictory, you may think to yourself. I agree, I have often felt the same. But, this is the view of suffering through the human, worldly perspective. However, whether it be a significant medical diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, a set back in your career, financial hardship, or other smaller inconveniences or annoyances of daily life, in the counter-cultural Christian view, these crosses bring with them great graces.
As mirrored through Christ‘s life, ending in His ultimate self-sacrifice for our sins, the cross can bring about the salvation of the world. Clearly, it was Christ’s death and resurrection that secured our entrance into eternal life. But, we have the ability to participate in our own sanctification, and that of those around us, by carrying both our daily and lifelong burdens with the same faith that Jesus did, as exemplified in His words in the garden of Gethsemane, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Certainly, we will all struggle with bearing our burdens throughout life. But, by continually renewing our commitment to “take up our cross and follow [Him],” we can return to the straight and narrow path, from which we may stray when we too often bear the weight of our crosses on our own (Matthew 16:24).
First, we must remember the words before this line in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew — “deny [yourself].” I have realized that I frequently wonder why I have to carry a particular cross, especially when others around me seem to not have any at all. Why can’t I just be like them? Why does it have to be so hard for me? The reality is that, most of the time, others’ crosses are hidden. Feeling jealous of others’ apparently easy life does us no good, as we do not know what it is like to walk in their shoes, under the weight of their particular, private burdens.
However, one of the essential desires underlying these questions is a longing to be comfortable or at peace. But, as it is so commonly said in the Christian world, Jesus did not tell us that following Him would be easy. Now, that is a lot more quickly said than lived out. It is still human nature to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. But, as St. Paul of the Cross reminds us, “the more deeply the cross penetrates, the better; the more deprived of consolation that your suffering is, the purer it will be.” If we truly want to participate in the redemption of the world, we must deny ourselves the pleasure of jealousy of others and anger toward God through our struggles. That being said, it is natural and okay for us to voice our discontentment at God (as Job did); but eventually, with His grace, we ought to be able to move beyond it toward greater peace in our suffering.
Additionally, running from the cross is futile. St. Edith Stein clearly puts it that “one cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross.” We each have unique struggles in life for certain reasons, often unbeknownst to us. We may come to see their meaning later in life, or sometimes never at all. However, that is where faith comes in. Faith is complete trust in something that we cannot see. It is confidence in the fact that there is a greater purpose in our difficulties. It is this, out of all of the components of suffering, of which we have control. As Viktor Frankl famously described it: “the last of the human freedoms [is the ability] to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” It is our right and our obligation to come to see our burdens as chances for redemption. We do not have to fall prey to the selfish and jealous temptations of the devil. In a meditation of St. Padre Pio, Jesus poignantly told him,
“How many times would you have abandoned Me, my son, if I had not crucified you. Beneath the cross, one learns love, and I do not give this to everyone, but only to those souls who are dearest to Me.”
When we encounter a burden, we should take courage in the fact that Jesus is calling us out of our present selves toward something greater. Not only can our selfish and sinful tendencies be purified, but we can also model for others how to suffer well and share with them in their suffering, as Christ does for us.
With this new perspective of the cross, it can come to be seen as a gift, instead of a curse. St. Louis de Montfort tells us that,
“The cross is the greatest gift God could bestow on His Elect on earth. There is nothing so necessary, so beneficial, so sweet, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus. If you suffer as you ought, the cross will become a precious yoke that Jesus will carry with you.”
He emphasizes the importance and the goodness of the cross, especially if properly borne. With eyes directed toward our eternal telos, we can walk alongside Christ while carrying our crosses. Or, rather, He journeys with us, equally yoked to the same wood. He, who suffered the entirety of humanity’s sins, gladly carries our infinitesimally lighter burdens with us. For, that is the reason that God became man — to share in our suffering. And, through this, He teaches us how to do so for others. As St. Maximilian Kolbe states, “the cross is the school of love.” By being so near to Christ, we pick up on how He lived with and served those around Him. And, just as Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, so can we learn to live according to what St. John recorded: “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). When we begin to see suffering as a gift, it becomes a lesson for us in how to sacrifice ourselves for others, as Christ did for us.
Therein lies the practical side of how by suffering well we can participate in our salvation and that of others. St. Teresa of the Andes reminds us that “we are co-redeemers of the world. And souls are not redeemed without the cross.” We are being made more Christ-like (i.e. Christ-ian) when we deny ourselves pleasures and comforts or do not run from difficulties and pain, for the good of others. Paradoxically, by giving up our own desires for the sake of others, we not only become more humble and holy, but we also bring about good in our neighbor’s life, and hopefully encourage them to do the same for others. It is through the cross that we have the opportunity to make ourselves holier. And, by living Christian lives, hopefully, we will inspire others to do the same. Because, as St. Rose of Lima declares, “apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.” We all must start up this course, helping one another along as we go, to make it to our ethereal destination.
Of course, there is another supernatural layer to the cross, in that by uniting our smaller sacrifices to Christ’s, what we attempt to accomplish is magnified by His grace. The Catholic teaching of redemptive suffering encourages us in that by offering up our struggles to be united to Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, God’s grace can be bestowed on a certain person, situation, or intention. So, it is up to you and me, when we have a cross to carry, to try our best to bear it well, for our own sake, for the good of our neighbors, and so that we can inspire others to do the same for themselves and for others.
It seems that suffering is superfluous these days, both in that it is excessively abundant and that the world deems it as unnecessary. Jesus tells us that, “in the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:13). He preludes this admonition with a consolation: “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.” We all will encounter periods of struggles in our lives. If you have not yet experienced significant suffering, you may think of counting yourself as lucky. However, I believe that those of us who have borne heavy suffering are fortunate. We have been given a great opportunity. We have been invited on an unique adventure. For sure, it does not feel that way most of the time. Often, selfishness, jealousy, laziness, and sinfulness can get the best of us. But, if whenever we fall under the weight of our crosses, we resolve to get up, ask for Christ’s and our neighbor’s help, and determine to find meaning in our struggles, we will be able to more easily join in unison with the Good Friday chorus, “behold the wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world.”
