The great preparatory seasons of the Church, Advent and Lent, both have multiple facets and their own rhythms and trajectories. Advent begins with an emphasis on the future coming of Christ and then it focuses on our celebration of the Incarnation, all the while fostering our spiritual preparation to receive Him in His comings. Lent, as we’ve experienced these first two weeks, begins by encouraging us to take up the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as a means toward deeper conversion and more sincere relationships with God and our neighbor. But today, we see, especially in the Gospel, the beginnings of another emphasis of Lent, its path toward the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection. These themes are related, of course, because prayer, fasting, and works of charity are disciplines that can strengthen us to embrace the Cross in our lives.
Embracing the Cross of Christ
And yet, we must, I think, as Christians, constantly remind ourselves and reckon with just how strange and almost outrageous this element of our Faith is. Almost every religion includes some practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But the Cross of Christ, and in particular our call to embrace His Cross as His followers, this is something unique to Christianity. We are so accustomed to it – indeed, we look upon crucifixes every day, many of them artistically so beautiful – that we may forget how shocking it is. Before he was Bishop Barron, Fr. Barron wrote a lovely book about the heart of Christianity called The Strangest Way. It opens with a true account of a scene at a famous inter-religious meeting hosted by the Catholic Church, where a prominent Buddhist participant proclaimed – and I’m paraphrasing – “My whole religious tradition is dedicated to understanding how we can alleviate suffering, and here, for this entire week, we have been speaking before an image of a tortured Man.”
This sincere outsider helps us to see how astounding our worship of Christ Crucified is. And, really, even our own Scriptures reveal the same sentiment. In today’s first reading, we hear from the prophet Jeremiah, the persecuted prophet whom Christians see as a foreshadowing of Jesus. But the difference is, while Jeremiah accepts his suffering, he never really embraces it; he is always pleading with God to release him from his prophetic vocation or let him triumph over his unjust enemies. Similarly, in today’s Gospel, the mother of James and John prays to Jesus that her sons might triumph and reign. And these desires of Jeremiah and the Zebedee family are natural, normal; it is ok to desire these things.
Jesus Invites Us to Offer Our Lives to Him
But our Christian faith reveals a mystery beyond or deeper than our natural human desires. Jesus teaches us that, if we can embrace our own suffering in faith, and embrace others who suffer in compassion and service, then through the grace of Jesus’ own Cross, we can find meaning, hope, redemption, new and greater life. Now, we must be clear, this isn’t some form of religious masochism; we Christians don’t seek out pain or find pleasure in it. But when we discern our own crosses as from God, we embrace them, take them up, and follow Jesus.
And we can see this redemptive and life-giving power in the saints we love. One of modern world’s most beloved saints, the Little Flower, is a shining example. She was a devoted and loving Carmelite from the time she entered the convent as a teenager. But it was her experience of great trials, both physical and spiritual, that opened up deep wells of compassion and tenderness in her for souls who didn’t know God, who had no faith, or who were tempted to despair. In imitation of Christ, she, in her own way, “offered herself as a ransom for many.”
Few of us will be called to carry a cross as profound as the one that St. Therese the Little Flower bore. But in our more ordinary lives, in the daily stuff of family and work, Jesus invites us, as He invited James and John, to drink from His chalice and to offer our lives to Him and to our brothers and sisters.
- Today’s Readings
- Father Charles's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join, too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
