Meditation: facing the cross with courage and love

Meditation: facing the cross with courage and love: while Jesus went up a Jerusalem, took the Twelve disciples alone and said to them during the journey: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will sentence him to death and hand him over to the pagans so that he may be Mocked, scourged and crucified, and will be resurrected on the third day “. Matthew 20: 17-19

What a conversation it must have been! While Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem with the Twelve just before the first Holy Week, Jesus spoke openly and clearly about what awaited Him in Jerusalem. Imagine what the disciples. In many ways, it would have been too much for them to understand at the time. In many ways, the disciples probably preferred not to listen to what Jesus had to say. But Jesus knew they needed to hear this difficult truth, especially when the time of the crucifixion approached.

Often, the full gospel message is difficult to to accept. This is because the complete message of the Gospel will always show us the sacrifice of the Cross at the center. Sacrificial love and the full embrace of the Cross must be seen, understood, loved, fully embraced and proclaimed with confidence. But how is it done? Let's start with our Lord himself.

Jesus he was not afraid of the truth. He knew that His suffering and death was imminent and He was ready and willing to accept this truth without hesitation. He did not see his cross in a negative light. He considered it a tragedy to be avoided. He allowed fear to discourage him. Instead, Jesus looked at his impending sufferings in the light of truth. He saw his suffering and death as a glorious act of love that he would soon offer and, therefore, he was not afraid not only to embrace these sufferings, but also to speak about them with confidence and courage.

Meditation: facing the cross with courage and love: in our life, we are invited to imitate the courage and love of Jesus every time we have to face something difficult in life. When this happens, some of the most common temptations are getting angry about the difficulty, or looking for ways to avoid it, or blaming others, or giving in to despair and the like. There are numerous coping mechanisms that are activated through which we tend to try to avoid the crosses that await us.

But what would happen if instead we followed the example of the our Lord? What if we faced every pending cross with love, courage and a voluntary hug? What if instead of looking for a way out, we were looking for a way in, so to speak? That is, we have been looking for a way to embrace our suffering in a way sacrificial, without hesitation, in imitation of Jesus' embrace of his cross. Every cross in life has the potential to become an instrument of much grace in our life and that of others. Therefore, from the standpoint of grace and eternity, crosses must be embraced, not shunned or cursed.

Think, today, about the difficulties you are facing. Do you see it the same way Jesus does? Can you see each cross that is given to you as an opportunity for sacrificial love? Are you able to welcome it with hope and trust, knowing that God can benefit from it? Try to imitate our Lord by joyfully embracing the difficulties you face and those crosses will eventually share the resurrection with our Lord.

My suffering Lord, you freely embraced the injustice of the Cross with love and courage. You have seen beyond the apparent scandal and suffering and you have transformed the evil that has been done to You into the greatest act of love ever known. Give me the grace to imitate Your perfect love and to do it with the strength and confidence you had. Jesus I believe in you.