The Cross

Come Holy Spirit! Pax Christi vobiscum!

Wow, so I was just reading an awesome book, titled, The Fulfillment of All Desire (sounds good, doesn't it?), when something of a revelation hit me. As I looked at the San Damiano Crucifix I have in my room, I realized that it looked like Christ had his arms outstretched as though waiting to hug or embrace us. Then it hit me: Christ came to redeem suffering. Before you say, "Duh," or "It's in the Catechism," or "You had to go to Rome to figure that out?" follow me for a sec.

Allow me to put it this way: all of us have crosses in our lives, some big, some small. The beauty is that when Christ told us to take up our cross, to embrace our cross, instead of embracing cold and splintering wood, we embrace Christ who hangs there with arms outstretched as He welcomes us into His loving embrace. If we approach Christ who hangs on the cross, all of our crosses become bearable. That is why He came--not just to throw crosses at us, forcing us to suffer for our "own good" as it were; rather, He came to give Himself to us on the cross, to attach Himself to our crosses, so that all of our suffering would bring us closer to Him. That way we can bear our burdens because of Him Who bore them first.

I'll update you more on life soon, but I had to get this reflection written. And remember, whenever you see Christ on the Cross, it's as though He's saying, "I love you...this much." Think about it.

Please pray for safe travels for us seminarians this weekend.

May God bless you and give you His Peace! And I prayed for you all in front of the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux today. Pax Christi!