CHALLENGE TO CARRY OUR CROSSES (One-page summary)
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as the dove
symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the cross are
the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for others. 1) It is only in
the cross that we see the face of God’s love. 2) the cross is the symbol of the
remission of our sins: “But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins,
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were
healed.” (Is 53:5). 3) The cross is the symbol of humble self-emptying for others.
4) the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises us a crown of glory as
a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.
(B) The Cross always means pain. But my pain is Christ’s cross 1) When I offer
my suffering with His on the cross for the salvation of all of us. 2) when we share
our blessings sacrificially with others. 3) The pain we suffer in controlling our evil
tendencies 4) It is, as well, the pain and humiliation we suffer by standing with
Jesus, his ideas and ideals.
(C) Our crosses come to us mainly from four sources. Some of our crosses,
like diseases, natural disasters and death, are rise from natural causes. We face
other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our friends and enemies supply a
few of our crosses. Finally, we ourselves cause many of our crosses as natural
consequences of careless living and evil habits and addictions.
(D)Carrying the cross means willingly accepting the pain involved in serving
others sacrificially. It also means spending our time, talents, wealth, and health
for others until it hurts us. Cross-bearing is also our sacrificial sharing of God’s
blessings with others. Further, it includes our doing penance to make reparation
for our sins and to grow in self-control. Carrying one’s cross becomes easier and
more meritorious when we accept life’s crosses as loving gifts given by a loving
Father. The comparison of our light crosses with the heavy crosses given to
others should make us grateful. Finally, we should carry our crosses, praying for
Heavenly strength.
(E) Why should we carry our crosses willingly? First, cross-bearing is a
condition for Christian discipleship. Jesus said: “Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt 16:24). Second, it is
by carrying our crosses that we make reparation for our sins and for the sins of
others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he was suffering in his body
what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by carrying our crosses that we
become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St. Paul explains it thus: “I have
been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:
19-20).
Life messages for Good Friday: (1) We should carry our crosses with the
right motives: Not like a lazy donkey, cursing its fate or angry oxen protesting its
load or hired worker working only for his wage. We should carry our crosses like
a loving wife who nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love
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and dedicated commitment. The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when
we compare our light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally ill patients or
patients in emergency wards. We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who
walks ahead of us carrying his heavier cross, while supporting us in carrying our
crosses. (2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We have to begin
every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of the crucified
Lord in our lives that day. A loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear on our body
will encourage us to serve others selflessly.
Full text of the homily: Homily starter anecdote: Alzheimer’s
patient remembered the cross of Jesus. President Ronald Reagan’s family
watched in pain as he lost different aspects of his brilliant memory due to
Alzheimer’s disease. First, he began forgetting ordinary things like how to turn on
the shower or to use a toaster. Soon he could no longer remember people who
were his old friends or close work associates. Then he began to forget even who
his children were and finally his wife. As the Reagan’s life was drawing to an end,
his family gathered around his bed. He knew none of them. Five day’s before his
death his wife Nancy Reagan placed a small cross in his hand. At first he
seemed puzzled, then looked intently and said, “Jesus” and closed his eyes. On
the day he died after 1 p.m., as Nancy Reagan held his hand, Ronald Reagan
opened his eyes, which he hadn‘t opened in five days, looked right at his wife of
52 years. Then he closed his eyes and he had his last breath.
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as the dove
symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the cross are
the symbols of the loving and sacrificial offering of self for others. First, it is only
in the cross that we see the face of God’s love. There is no greater love than that
of a person who is willing to die for another, and the cross tells this love story.
Second, the cross is the symbol of the remission of our sins: The Bible says that
when Jesus died he took all our sins to himself on the cross, and so he
conquered sin and the devil’s power forever. Whenever we see the cross we
should realize that Jesus was bruised, crushed and died for our iniquities. “But he
was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the
chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5).
Third, the cross is the symbol of humble self-emptying for others. It is the symbol
of the cross-bearing Christ leading us in our life’s journey of pain and suffering,
carrying his heavier cross and still encouraging us, strengthening us and
supporting us. Fourth, the cross is the symbol of the risen Christ who promises
us a crown of glory as a reward for our patient bearing of our daily crosses.
(B) The Cross always means pain. But the pain I suffer for myself is not
Christ’s cross. The true cross of Christ is the pain I suffer for others. It is the
sanctifying pain involved in sharing our blessings sacrificially with others. It is the
pain involved in controlling our evil tendencies in an attempt to attain a higher
degree of holiness. It is the pain involved in standing with Jesus his ideas and
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ideals and gladly following him even if that means scorn and humiliation from the
rest of the world.
(C) We have our crosses mainly from four sources. Some of our crosses like
diseases, natural disasters, death are given by Mother Nature. We face some
other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our friends and enemies supply a
few of our crosses. Finally we ourselves create many of our crosses by careless
living and evil addictions.
(D) On Good Friday we should ask the question: why should we carry our
crosses? First, cross-bearing is a condition for Christian discipleship. Jesus
said: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me.” Second, it is by carrying our crosses that we make reparation for
our sins and for the sins of others related to us. That is why St. Paul said that he
was suffering in his body what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by
carrying our crosses that we become imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St.
Paul explains it thus: “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but
Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Life messages: (1) We should carry our crosses with the right motives: It
means that we should not carry our crosses by cursing our fate as does the
donkey carrying its load. Nor should we protest as do the bulls or horses pulling
their carts. Our motive should not be reward by God as the hired workers work
for their wages. We should carry our crosses like a loving wife who nurses her
paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love and dedicated commitment.
The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when we compare our light crosses
with the heavy crosses of terminally-ill patients or patients in emergency wards.
We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who walks ahead of us
carrying his heavier cross while supporting us in carrying our crosses.
(2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We have to begin
every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of the
crucified Lord in our lives that day. Our repeated promise of sharing the crucified
Lord’s love with others around us at home and at our place of work, will enable
us to live dynamic Christian lives. A loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear
on our body will encourage us to serve others selflessly with real commitment.
Such prayer will also open our hearts to receive immunity from a lot of
temptations and an increase of divine strength to fight and defeat stronger
temptations. At the end of the day, we can make an examination of conscience
by reviewing how much or how little we have stayed upon the foundation of
Christ’s cross.
(3) We should heal our inner wounds through the cross of Christ: An area
where it is very important for us to apply the cross of Christ in our life concerns
the area of inner healing. We all need healings from those wounds to our
character that we sustained early in life, especially during our first seven years.
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Someone who has an abusive or withdrawn father or a critical mother will
develop specific character traits in an attempt to respond to the wounding, for
example, a tendency to anger or a tendency to fear and withdrawal. The good
news is that the cross of Christ can heal and undo even these early wounds to
our character because every moment of our life is present to God and hence He
can heal the wounds in our past. Part of this healing involves repenting of the
sinful ways in which we have responded to those wounds. Forgiveness is vital to
such healing. If we do not forgive those who have wounded us we are actually
holding on to the bitterness and hurt in our hearts and this will completely block
healing and transformation. Thus, through the cross of Christ, inner healing is
accomplished in accord with the pattern of dying and rising with Christ.
Additional Anecdotes:1) Powdered Christian. You might remember
comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia
he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in
American grocery stores. He says, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered
milk–you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice–
you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and
I thought to myself, “What a country!” Smirnoff is joking, but we make these
assumptions about Christian Transformation. We go to church as if we are going
to the grocery store: Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born
not made. Unfortunately, there is no such powder, and disciples of Jesus Christ
are not instantly born. We must understand what it means to be a disciple. Does
this mean denying ourselves? YES. Does this mean that just saying that you
follow Jesus is enough? NO, it is not. We read in Matthew’s gospel, “Whoever
wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me”
(Matthew 16: 24)
2) Anecdote no 2: The Soviet premier’s cross: In 1962, President John F.
Kennedy met USSR’s Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. Their wives were
present. The US State Department warned Mrs. Kennedy to avoid Mrs.
Khrushchev. Mrs. Kennedy did not follow the advice. She gave a silver plate as a
gift. Mrs. Khrushchev was embarrassed, for she had no gift. She searched
through her large handbag. Finally she found a cross. The premier’s wife of the
officially Godless USSR gave the cross to Catholic Jacqueline Kennedy. Though
neither spoke each other’s language, the cross served as their translator.
Fr. Antony Kadavil