Standing by the cross
For Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Do we have our own cross, that is, our difficulties, mistakes, and causes of suffering?
If we have it, do we like it?
There is a story of a man who hates his cross and keeps praying God to reduce it. One day an angel shows up and says to the man, "God has heard your prayer. What do you want me to do for you?"
The man says, "Lord, the cross I carry everyday is too heavy, so please cut it half for me."
The angel does what he asks. So the man feels the weight of the cross light and he thinks that he can carry it all the way through.
However, the cross eventually gets heavier and heavier everyday and he prays again to cut his cross. Surprisingly the angel does the same thing for him.
The end of life for the man is near and he sees the gate of heaven and holy people enter the Kingdom of God.
But there is a dark chasm between the end of the road that he has walked all his life and the gate of heaven. Holy people before him come across the abyss by putting down their crosses and walking over them.
The man puts down his cross and yet it is too short to connect the gap. Then he realizes that he should have carried his cross as it is.
Today we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows that is following the feast of the exaltation of the holy cross known as 'the triumph of the cross' that we celebrated yesterday.
The sorrows that our Blessed Mother had endured were not separated from the cross that she had to accept through her whole life. That is why the memorial is closedly connected to the feast of the triumph of the cross.
Generally we don't like our cross, rather we want to get rid of it if it is possible. However, the story tells us that we all need to carry our cross because it is a part of us that makes us grow and become true disciples.
Jesus tells us, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me"(Luke 9,23).
We meet today the example of a true disciple, the blessed Mother who stands by the cross of Jesus while other disciples ran away because of the fear of the cross and death. She does not fear of her cross and embraces it even though it causes much sorrows in her life.
We are called to be a faithful cross bearer like Our Lady who always chooses to stand by the cross of Jesus.
Whenever we feel despair, carrying our cross, we need to see the cross of Jesus who freely accepted the cross for our sins in which we will be consoled and take courage to take up our cross daily and follow the Lord.
If we take up the cross one day at a time, looking at the cross of Jesus and choosing to stand by the cross, we can say later like St. Paul, "By the grace of God I am what I am." Amen.
