The Cross

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the Season of Lent, we prepare for the death of Jesus that will happen on Good Friday, and we eagerly await the Resurrection of Christ, that we celebrate on Easter.  The Cross is the ultimate paradox of the history of the world.  On one hand, it is a sign of suffering and sacrifice, a sign of the death of Christ, one that we remember in a literal way at Holy Mass.  On the other hand, it is a sign of the salvation of mankind, a sign that because of the sacrifice of Christ on the Hill of Calvary, we have been given salvation for all who accept it.  

In this Season, we meditate on this profound mystery: God loves us as much as God is love.  Because love is a transcendental of God, not an accident, love is intrinsic to the substance of God; no part of God is not love.  Love is not merely a part of God, God is love.  Any kind of love we do on earth is in direct imitation to the love that God is, and the love that he pours forth on us.   Any kind of sincere love we do on earth is in direct imitation of Him; not only that, but it is because of Him that it is possible to love in the first place.  Just like we are made in God's image, part of that image can be the ability to love, because we are imaging God when we love.  

Jesus says in the Gospel, There is no greater love than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  Jesus here teaches us something very important about love.  Love is more than just a feeling.  Equating love with feeling is a common mistake made in modern society; it results in divorces when people lose that feeling of love, precisely because they equate love with feeling.  Love is more than a feeling.  It is a choice; it is also a sacrifice.  Love goes much further than just feeling affectionate.  Love is required when the child is sick in the middle of the night, or when a priest gets a sick call at 2 AM.  Love is that choice, that sacrifice.  In any vocation we are called to enter into, love is a necessary requirement in order to be faithful to that vocation.  Love is required even when we don't think we have any more love to give.  At this point, this is where the grace of God is most important, since it is through graces received that we can be given the ability to love like God.  Love is designed to be sacrificial.  The love a husband and wife shares is a sacrificial love, laying down their life for the other.  The love a priest has for his people is a sacrificial love, as the priest lays down his life for his flock.  

The example we look to, in terms of laying down one's life, for the sake of his friends, is the sacrifice Christ made on Calvary.  Jesus laid down His life for His friends, and Jesus seeks friendship with all.  He extends a hand of friendship, yet so few reach out to take His hand.  Jesus offers himself for the sake of humanity; this is the ultimate expression of love.  The Cross is hard, and it shows in a real way the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.  But also, the Cross is a symbol of love, since it is through the Cross that we can seek friendship with God, and it is through that Cross that we can seek salvation through God.  

What we learn from the Cross is that the way to true love with God and with fellow man is through the Cross, and it is through suffering that we come to love.  It is easy to love when there is little sacrifice.  It is hard to love when the suffering and sacrifice is a heavy burden to us, but it is through these moments that we experience the love of the living God.  It is through these moments that God pours forth graces upon us.  It is through these moments that we become more Christ like.  May we always seek the Cross, that great example of love, especially in the Lenten Season, that through the Cross we may become more Christ like.

May you remain close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.