Triumph of the Holy Cross (September 14) and of Our Lady
of Sorrows
(September 15). It’s a good occasion to remind ourselves
and to spread
the good news about the cross, that is, the cross of Christ
and not
just any cross, usually the cross we invent and inflict
on ourselves.
I believe it is
a most opportune and urgent move to do
since many of us are still held hostage by a very
negative if not
meaningless conception of the cross. We need to get
liberated from
that predicament.
Obviously, the
cross in any form will always involve pain
and suffering. Some of them will be physical, others
emotional, still
others psychological. We may also classify them as moral
and
spiritual. They can have different manifestations.
But all these
pain and suffering and everything else that
goes into the making of a cross already have acquired a
positive
value. They purify us, they strengthen and mature us.
The cross heals
what is sick and wounded, resurrects what
is dead, forgives what is sinful. There is no evil
in man and in the
world that cannot be handled properly by the cross.
That’s why we
should not feel at all hopeless when we find ourselves in
a deep mess,
often created by our own selves, our own foolishness.
The cross
symbolizes all evil and sin, and with Christ
embracing it and dying on it, it itself transforms from
being a tree
of death to a tree of life. It effects our redemption. We
should not
be afraid of the cross.
Most
importantly, the cross identifies us with Christ and
unites us with him in his supreme act of love for us.
That is, Christ
assuming all our sinfulness and dying to them through the
cross and
later resurrecting.
In short, all
the pain and suffering involved in the cross
becomes the very substance of love. It’s this kind of
love that has
converted our sin and all the suffering and pain it
involves,
including death itself, into our way of salvation.
Again, we can
say that all the pain and suffering involved
in the cross are what would make us “another Christ, if
not Christ
himself.” It’s a win-win deal that we should not miss to
enter.
That is why,
it’s important that we look at the cross from
the point of view of our faith. It has to be a
theological
understanding and attitude, not just physical, emotional,
psychological, etc. That’s when the cross can truly
become a good news
for us, and not just a sign of terror and fear.
From there, let
us learn to carry the cross...with
elegance as much as possible. Though we will always
remain human and
are always subject to the laws of nature, there’s also
such thing as
grace that can somehow enable us to find joy and relief
even in the
grip of pain.
We just need to
find the appropriate ways, training
ourselves—our physical, mental and emotional aspects—to
bear the cross
without compromising our ultimate moral and spiritual
health.
There are
different ways of bearing the cross. Aside from
bearing it directly until death, we can somehow also bear
it by using
certain techniques as prudence dictates. Let’s remember
that Christ
himself told us to be shrewd and clever as serpents while
remaining
simple as doves.
We can choose,
for example, to ignore the pain and just
focus on what we are supposed to be doing at a given
moment. The idea
is that the cross should not as much as possible hinder
our duty of
the moment. If ever, that cross should sharpen our sense
of duty.
Others try to
inject humor and wit into some persistent
difficulty in their relationship with others or in
dealing with a
particular issue. This may look like escapism or
sweet-lemoning, but
the real purpose is not to be caught in a dead-end, but
rather to find
a way to move on in spite of that difficulty.
We have to help
one another to carry our crosses, giving
good example for others to follow or to feel edified, as
well as
timely and effective pieces of advice derived from our
personal
experience or from some proven knowledge.
If all of these
tricks are carried out with supernatural
faith, with the right intention and with moral means,
then they can be
holy and pleasing to God. The cross can become a vital
part of our
day, and is indeed a good news!
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