Path of the Cross

To be a Christian is to live a life in imitation of Christ. Our life gives off the aroma of Christ (2 Cor 2:15) if we unite our thoughts and actions with Him, joining in His mission to draw all people to a communion with His Father, our Father, in heaven. If we identify ourselves with Him, we become alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, Christ Himself, among the fellowmen we touch in our daily life. We could then say of each of us, in the words of St. Paul, I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20).

Christ’s way is one of the self-giving and self-denial. His is the standard of the cross. If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Lk 9:23). The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross (Cathechism of the Catholic Church, 2015). For us to reach God, says St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, Christ is the way; but Christ is on the Cross (Escriva, Way of the Cross, Tenth Station). To follow Christ is to be always carrying about in our body the dying of Christ, His abnegation, His suffering on the Cross, so that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies (id, Christ is Passing By, 19).

We make manifest the life of Christ in our bodies through mortification, by putting to death or denying ourselves everything that is not in accord with His will: immortality, sensuality, laziness, selfishness, dishonesty, vanity, faultfinding, etc. By conquering the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16), we discard the old self inside us with its corrupt desires, and put on the new self that is reborn in the image of God (cf Eph 4:22-23).

Mortification is necessary ingredient in the life of a Christian. Not a single day should pass that has not been seasoned with the salt and grace of mortification (Escriva, Friends of God, 129). It helps us in our role as co-redeemers of Christ. The Word became flesh and came into the world to save all men. With all our personal defects and limitations… we too are called to serve all men (id, Christ is Passing By, 106). It is a means of purifying the heart, to make it better disposed to receive His grace. The pure of heart shall see God (cf Mt 5:8). Mortification heightens our spirit of penance for our sins, deepens our sorrow for countless falls, and strengthens our resolve to begin and begin again.

Our daily life yields opportunities for making sacrifices. Everyday we are exposed to occasions that upset our schedule or mood, or tempts us to sin. These could be a minor illness, being caught in a heavy traffic, sudden brownout, a lewd drift in conversation, a bad haircut, financial problem, or any of the thousand and one pinpricks of the day. Instead of being carried away by pessimism, anger or other negative reaction, we should view these events as divine caresses from our Lord who wants to meet us precisely during those moments. “The appropriate word you left unsaid; the joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who bother you; that silence when you’re unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in those who live with you…this, with perseverance, is indeed solid interior mortification” (Escriva, The Way, 173).

Another path of sacrifice lies in the diligent carrying out of duties to our family, in school, at the office, or anywhere. We do our duties with hard work, high standards and much love. Penance is fulfilling exactly the timetable you have fixed for yourself. Penance is getting up on time and also not leaving for later, without any real reason, that particular job that you find harder or most difficult to do… Penance means being charitable at all times towards those around you, starting with the members of your family (id, Friends of God, 138).

One can also perform active mortification, sacrifices in big or little things that one makes voluntarily as an offering to God, or to overcome a temptation, or for a friend who has not gone to confession for years. These sacrifices are the ones we ourselves look for, like little flowers we gather up during the course of the day (id, The Forge, 403). Tomorrow we will omit sugar in our coffee at breakfast; at the next day’s lunch we will delay drinking water; no merienda this Saturday. Indeed we can make small, hidden acts of self-denial, of love of God or specific intentions, which fit effortlessly inside any day.

Our life here on earth is not accidental. A loving Father who desires us to rest forever in His arms has chosen us from the creation of the world. We are children of God. A constant awareness of his reality will urge us on, day by day, to set our minds and hearts on God, fighting against evil inclinations, keeping a cheerful spirit amidst difficulties, embracing the highs and lows of life with serenity, and dying to ourselves so that Christ may live in us (id, Way of the Cross, Fourteenth Station).

There is no other way but the path of Cross to experience the joy and peace of Christ. Love the Cross. When you really love it, your Cross will be… a Cross without a Cross (id, Holy Rosary, Fourth Sorrowful Mystery).

Living and Loving as God's Children

From out of nothing but out of love, God created man after His likeness. We are all born of a Father who destined us to be his children according to his purpose (cf Eph 1:5). “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God” (1 Jn 3:1). Giving life to man is His joy. “My delight is to be among the sons of men” (Prov 3:31).

The awareness that we are all “members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19) should also fill us with joy. For our very existence here on earth is no mere accident. Each person is, in the words of Pope John Paul II, a “unique and irrepeatable human reality’ (Redemptor hominis, 13; Carvajal and Beteta, Children of God, 4). Everybody has a role to play in God’s master plan.

But the gift of life received by us, the grace of being the “children of so wonderful a Father” (Escriva, Friends of God, 26), exacts from us the duty to live as He desires, and that is “to enter into a communion with God” (id, Christ is Passing By, 100).

Our vocation then is to live and to love as children of God, in the midst of our daily activities, in our relations, and at every moment. “We are children of God all day long” (Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, 102).

One who desires to live a life befitting a child of God has a model. Striving for holiness is no more and no less than imitating Jesus Christ. “To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is” (id, the Forge, 10).

Identifying with Christ entails seeking him, finding him, knowing him and loving him.

Seeking Christ means to put him in the center of our life, accepting with all humility that without him, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). We are searching for Christ in the way we are struggling to become better persons, by overcoming defects in our character, by working harder, by being kinder and friendlier, and by being more sensitive to the needs of others. The beautiful paradox of seeking Christ is by becoming like him in our daily relationships.

“Truly, to seek Christ is, in a way, to have found him already. He arranges for us to cross his path, if only we seek him” (Children of God, op cit, 35). We find Christ in the Gospel. “It’s not enough to have a general idea of the spirit of Jesus’ life; we have to learn the details of his life and through these, his attitudes. And especially we must contemplate his life, to derive strength, light, serenity, peace. When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so as to become like him. That is why we have to meditate on Jesus’s life, from his birth in a stable up to his death and resurrection” (id, Christ in Passing By, 107).

We also find Christ in the sacraments, especially in reconciliation and in the Holy Eucharist. When we fall into sin for any reason, we do not despair, but like the prodigal son, we return to our Father’s merciful embrace through a contrite confession. Receiving the Holy Eucharist in as many days of the week as possible increases Christ’s presence in our lives. “Those who feel they are children of God have an overpowering need of Christ” (id, The Forge, 830).

Through prayer, we learn more about Christ. “There is only one way to become more familiar with God, to increase our trust in him. We must come to know him through prayer; we musk speak to him and show him through a heart to heart conversation, that we love him” (id, Friends of God, 294). This constant dialogue with God is carried out not only during certain moments of the day, but throughout the day: while doing house chores, or while studying or working. Though we are not consciously thinking God, our daily activities become immersed in God and are elevated to prayer.

Christian life does not consist in “much thinking, but in much loving” (St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, 4:17; Children on God, op cit., 41). “In the hour of our death," said Mother Theresa, “when we come face to face with God, we are going to be judged on love – not how much we have done, but how much love we put into our actions.” Love is a verb. Loving God is shown in action, for love is expressed in deeds, not sweet words. Love comes alive in the small courtesies we practice, the gentleness of our manners, graciousness of our words, as well as in our little acts of kindness and respect especially for the least of our brothers and sisters, those who are in no position to repay us.

The miracle of God’s love is it is inexhaustible. The more we are in love with Christ, the more we give his love to others, the more love we received from him, the more we make him live in us, and the more we grow in our love of him.

In Touch with the Saints

During this month of November, we remember the saints and the faithful departed. Those already triumphant in heaven and those still suffering in purification are united with the militant faithful still journeying on earth. We all form one Church, the People of God, bonded in communion. The Communion of Saints is an article of our faith. Pope Benedict XVI tells us: “Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself” (Homily, Apr. 24, 2005).

The saints in heaven had earned their place by living their lives on earth doing the will of God. They are “a great multitude: not only the saints and blesseds we honor during the liturgical year, but also the anonymous saints known only to him. Mothers and fathers of families, who in their daily devotion to their children made an effective contribution to the Church's growth and to the building of society; priests, sisters and lay people who, like candles lit before the altar of the Lord, were consumed in offering material and spiritual aid to their neighbor in need; men and women missionaries, who left everything to bring the Gospel message to every part of the world. And the list could go on” (Pope John Paul II, Homily, Nov. 1, 2000).

They are worthy of our emulation. Our community with the saints joins us to Christ, “the crown of all saints.” We are encouraged to follow the example of their life on earth, pray for their intercession and hope for eternal fellowship with them. (Cf Lumen Gentium, 50-51).

God wants us to be saints, too. “Holiness,” Pope John Paul II kept reminding us, “is the primary requirement of the Christian life” (Angelus, Nov. 1, 2003). “This is the will of God: your holiness” (1 Thes 4:3). Our Lord minces no words: Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48). Repent (Mt 4:17). Follow me (Mt 9:9). Take up your cross (Lk 9:23). Learn from me (Mt 11:29). For without me you can do nothing (Jn 15:5).

God calls everyone to sanctity following various paths. Some answer the vocation to priestly or religious life. But for the vast majority who live in the middle of the world, sanctity is to be lived in the day-to-day ordinary activities at home and in places of work. “To love God and to serve others, it is not necessary to do extraordinary things. To be a saint means sanctifying our work, sanctifying ourselves in our work and sanctifying others through all the circumstances of that work. In this way, we find God on all the pathways of our life (Conversations with Msgr. Escriva, 55). Ordinary human task done with holy intentions is thus converted to divine work.

Not to do so is to endanger our soul and even take us away from our communion with God. Where God is absent, the condition of hell is present. Some people go to all sacrifices to chisel their bodies to perfection, accumulate goods, and aspire for social honour and public prestige. They relegate to the backdoor the most important business of their soul. “Where are they, Dr This and Professor That, whom you used to hear so much about when they were alive, and at the height of their reputation? Alive, they counted for something; dead they are forgotten” (Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Bk I, Chapter 3, No. 4).

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI urges us to have Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions. “Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we live ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life (Homily at the Inauguration, Apr. 19, 2005).

We are a people on a continuous pilgrimage toward God. Our Church, in our Holy Father’s words, is a pilgrim fellowship of faith. Like the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, we are all travelling in fellowship with Our Lord, growing in life with him in the Breaking of the Bread, and, if we remain faithful throughout, finally climbing to an eternal communion with him (The Church on the Threshold of the Third Millenium).

As we go on with our travel, we need to stay in touch with Christ, allow ourselves to be touched by him, and reach out to touch others by the witness of our struggle to live the Beatitudes. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God (Mt 5:8).

The Holy Rosary, Sweet Chain of Love

“The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, the unique contemplative prayer through which, guided by the Lord's Heavenly Mother, we fix our gaze on the face of the Redeemer in order to be conformed to his joyful, light-filled, sorrowful and glorious mysteries” (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, Oct. 2, 2005).

Among our treasury of prayers, the Holy Rosary is par excellence. Through it, we can reflect on the truths of our faith in the Apostles’ Creed, petition Our Father, contemplate the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ from his incarnation, through his public ministry, his passion, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, and give glory to the Blessed Trinity. Rightly is the Holy Rosary described as the epitome or compendium of the Gospel (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 971).

The Rosary is unique because we pray it in the company of the Blessed Mother. She is the model of worship that consists in making one's life an offering to God, because she heard the word of God and acted on it, fully accepting the will of God. She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ's disciples (Pope Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, 21, 35).

The Rosary is an essential prayer in our struggle for holiness. The fullness of our life demands that we follow in Christ’s footsteps, to be conformed to his image, and do the will of the Father in everything. “Christ calls each and everyone to holiness; he asks each and everyone to love him: young and old, single and married, healthy and seek, learned and unlearned, no matter where they work, or where they are. The secret of holiness is to follow Christ, to accompany him so closely that we come to live with him, become identified with him, that his life is reflected in our behavior, as in a mirror. To follow Christ one does not have to step aside from the ordinary pattern of everyday life, and the holiness which God expects of us is to be found here and now in the little things of each day” (St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God, 294, 299, 312).

Honoring the Blessed Mother in the Rosary brings us closer to Christ. Hand in hand with Mary, we contemplate the face of Christ, remember his life, learn from him, pray to him and proclaim his teaching. The beads of the Rosary converge upon the Crucifix, which opens and closes the unfolding sequence of prayer. The prayer is centered on Christ, everything begins from him and everything leads towards him. (Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 10, 13-17, 36). “Mary remains ever the path that leads to Christ. Every encounter with her can only result in an encounter with Christ himself. For what other reason do we continually turn to Mary than to seek for the Christ she holds in her arms?” (Pope Paul VI, Mense Maio).
Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI tells us: “Being in God, who is close to us, actually, ‘within’ all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God. Being in God and with God, she is close to each one of us, knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness and has been given to us, as the Lord said, precisely as a ‘mother’ to whom we can turn at every moment. She always listens to us, she is always close to us, and being Mother of the Son, participates in the power of the Son and in his goodness. We can always entrust the whole of our lives to this Mother, who is not far from any one of us (Homily, Aug. 15, 2005).
It is necessary to pray the Rosary in a spirit of contemplation and reflection. “Without this the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of going counter to the warning of Christ: ‘And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt. 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are unfolded” (Marialis Cultus, 47). “If you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirit of faith and love, Our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son's path (St. Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, 691).

The cadence of Hail Marys imitates the rhythmic beating of the heart which impels the soul contemplating the mysteries to higher levels of ardor and love. “From the frequent meditation on the mysteries, the soul little by little draws and absorbs the virtues they contain,” says Pope Pius XII (Ingruentium Malorum, 9). Pope Leo XIII, the Pope of the Rosary, assures that no man can meditate upon the mysteries without feeling a new awakening in his heart of confidence that he will certainly obtain through Mary the fullness of the mercies of God (Iucunda Semper Expectatione, 5).

But there, too, are moments when the mind could not stay focused. Even saints experienced these difficulties. St. Therese of Liseux lamented the times she said the Rosary “so badly” when she could not fix her mind to meditate on the mysteries (On Prayer, The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom, 653). Yet there is no reason to get fazed, for God looks at the sincerity of the heart, and a persevering prayer does not go unrewarded. “Blessed be that monotony of Hail Marys which purifies the monotony of your sins!” (Furrow, 475).

Pope John Paul II exhorted the faithful to put out into the deep (Duc in altum!) and proclaim Christ, who is to be known, loved and imitated, so that in him we may live the life of the Trinity (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 29). Everyone is called to work in the Lord’s vineyard. It is not permissible for anyone to remain idle (Christifideles Laici, 3). “The purpose of our lives,” says our new Pope in his inaugural homily, “is to reveal God to human beings,” and “there is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him” (Apr. 24, 2005). He challenges the people to go forward with Christ (Homily, Aug. 21, 2005).

One concrete way of proclaiming Christ in this Month of the Holy Rosary is to spread the devotion to this Marian prayer. Within the family, especially among couples with young children, the Rosary is an efficacious means of developing a vibrant prayer life. For truly a family that prays together stays together. Or, one can start a group prayer with friends at home, in school, office or the neighborhood. There are many other ways. When to begin? “Nunc coepi! — now I begin!” (Furrow, 161)

Nothing will please Our Lady more than apostolic initiatives from each of us which, like the beads of the Rosary, form a sweet chain of love that links us to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So rise, let us be on our way (Jn 14:31).