the Cross

Last Lent. when I led Matt Rowles series on the Passion Narratives, The Final Days, one line from the series has stayed with me for the entire year. The line basically said that when we sing the hymn, “Lift High the Cross”, are we really saying that we Christians do that to avoid the reality of Jesus’s call and example:  that the Cross is carried by so many in our world and we do not see it and the reality of what Jesus says, “Take up your Cross and follow me”.  If we lift it high, we can avoid its reality and call.

This Fifth Week of Lent shifts our focus from our own penance and need for conversion to face, not just our sins, but the Cross which frees us from sin. But we cannot hide from the Cross, but we embrace it as the eternal sign of God’s Love and our hope in the midst of our trials. It has been the Cross that has given our ancestors in the faith the ability to endure suffering and martyrdom. It has been the Cross that people have looked to in the times of distress and trial. It is the Cross that is an integral part of each of our Sacramental rituals and our individual prayer life.

 I always remember the words that St Clare of Assisi said to her sisters:   spend 5 minutes a day in silent reflection of the poverty that Jesus embraced on the Cross. What a great way to start the day. To place ourselves in union with Christ and realize that we need to look at the Cross at eye level and not above us. In the poverty of the Cross, we encounter our need for Jesus and our need for him.

“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.“ Because by Your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.”