Christ’s cross opens heaven’s gate

INDEED, it is Christ’s cross that does the trick. Our own

salvation, our capacity to open heaven’s gate has to pass through the

cross of Christ, and not just any cross. Christ’s cross is the key.

            It’s in Christ’s cross that all our sins are borne by

Christ himself and forgiven. It’s where our death leads to our life

everlasting. It’s where we can truly say we are united with Christ.

            We need to carry that cross, as Christ himself said.

"Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his

cross, and follow Me.” (Mk 8,34) We need to do everything to fulfill

this indication of Christ everyday.

            Any suffering we have in this life, be it physical, moral

or whatever, can be considered as the cross of Christ as long as we

unite that suffering to Christ’s redemptive suffering and death on the

cross. That’s simply because Christ has made as his own all the

suffering we can have.

            We can make use of some human devices so that we can be

reminded of this wonderful truth of our faith. One such device can be

the practice of carrying a little crucifix in our wallet, and taking

it up from time to time to kiss it.

            This can be done especially just before going to bed so

that we can associate the ending of our day with this sublime

sacrifice of Christ which we should try to reflect in our life. We

should try to end our day the way Christ ended his life here on earth.

            We can also do it upon waking up in the morning to signify

our intention to carry the cross the whole day. It should mean that we

are willing to suffer the way Christ suffered. We should be willing to

take on any offense the way Christ accepted all the offenses and sins

of men by accepting his death on the cross.

            We should try not to over-react to any suffering that can

come our way. As long as we unite with the suffering of Christ, we can

manage to echo what St. Paul once said:

            “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;

perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the

dying of Jesus, so that life of Jesus may also be manifested in our

body.” (2 Cor 4,8-10)

            These words were spoken by St. Paul in the context of

showing how our weakness and suffering—the fragile clay jars that we

are, as St. Paul describes us--can actually show God’s power working

in us. In the same letter, St. Paul precisely said that it’s when we

are weak that we are strong. (cfr 12,10)

            It’s important that our attitude and reactions to

suffering of whatever kind conform to this reasoning of faith

expressed by St. Paul. It’s a reasoning that perfectly captures the

reason behind Christ’s willing acceptance of his suffering and death.

            It is this kind of suffering, this kind of cross that led

to Christ’s resurrection, and that will lead to our resurrection too.

This is the kind of cross that opens the gates of heaven for us!