Lenten Retreat (Take Up Your Cross) - First Meditation (Taking Up Our Cross)

You who shed your Most Precious Blood for us, for our salvation, upon the wood of the Holy Cross. The image of the sea is one that, throughout the scriptures, represents chaos, danger, and destruction. From the Spirit of the Lord moving upon the waters of chaos before God brought order to Creation in Genesis to the destruction of the sea at the end of the book of Revelation when God creates the new heaven and new earth.

I’d like you to envision yourself then, adrift at sea after a shipwreck. This shipwreck is Original Sin, the loss of innocence and enmity with God that came about from the sin of the first man, Adam. It’s dark and terrifying, you are cold and alone, groping about for anything that you might use to pull yourself out of the frigid water, anything that you might hold onto to give your tired arms rest from paddling to keep yourself afloat. Then you notice a plank of wood floating near you, so you grasp hold of it to save yourself.

This plank is, of course, the Holy Cross, the Book of Proverbs calls it the tree of life, and compares it to Holy Wisdom:

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13 Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and is rich in prudence:

14 The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver, and her fruit than the chief and purest gold:

15 She is more precious than all riches: and all the things that are desired, are not to be compared to her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory.

17 Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed.

Blessed indeed are you if you understand that the Holy Cross means all this to you. But so often we fail to reflect upon this truth. Instead of seeking out the Cross, we push it away from ourselves by fleeing from sufferings, mortifications, and humiliations, and everything that should characterize a truly penitent Christian. If we constantly flee from the Cross of Christ then we are ensuring our ultimate ruin, but if we seek to embrace the Cross at all times then we are ensuring our salvation, again, “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed.”

ILLUSTRATION

There was once a pious young girl who wanted to be a nun. She went to a convent of Carmelites and asked the Superioress to admit her into that convent.

“My child,” said the Superioress, “our Order is a most severe one, and I am afraid that you would not be able to practice all the austerities which our rule enjoins. Come, and I will show you how severe is the life we lead.”

So she led the young postulant through the convent and showed her the poor food, and the hard beds, and the silent and heavy work which was the portion of all those who dwelt within the convent walls. She did ths on purpose to try her. But nothing that she saw seemed to frighten her; on the contrary, she seemed to view everything with calm serenity.

After show her all these things, and describing to her all she would have to suffer if she became a Carmelite nun, she said to her, “Now, my child, tell me, how could you bear that hard and trying life?”

“Reverend mother,” she replied, “may I ask you one question?”

“Certainly, my child.”

“Are there any crucifixes in the convent?”

“Yes, there is one in every room, as you must have seen.”

“Ah, then, do not be afraid for me, for if there is a crucifix in my cell where you say my hard bed will be, and in the place where I will receive such poor food, and in the church where I will have to spend so much time in prayer, I will not find any difficulty in bearing with all you have described to me; the sight of my dear Jesus on the cross will give me strength and courage to surmount them all.”

The Superioress at once consented to admit her, and she became a model of piety and fervour to all the other nuns.

SECOND POINT: Holding fast to the Cross

PRESENTATION

Let us return, then, to that mental image of our sorry selves floating adrift upon the sea with our plank of wood to keep us afloat. But the sea is not a calm place, remember it is a place of chaos and destruction. We begin to be buffetted by the waves, tossed to a fro, and we begin to lose our grip upon our saving plank. If we do not grasp the plank firmly and tightly to ourselves, then the ferocity of the waves will rip it from our hands, and it will be as though we never grasped it in the first place.

It is just the same with the Holy Cross. What is the point of grasping onto the Cross for a little while if we are then going to allow temptation to overcome us and make us abandon it? Recall again the words of the Book of Proverbs, “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed.” ‘He that shall retain her is blessed’ not ‘he that merely touches her occasionally when things are going well and I have a moment of pious fervour is blessed’, ‘he that shall retain her is blessed.’ There are a great many who embrace the Cross of Christian perfection, but how few there are who persevereingly hold on to it.

Think back to that moment when God in His infinite Mercy called you to a better life. Perhaps it was in your youth, when you first felt that desire to completely commit yourself to being a disciple of Christ. Perhaps it was a moment in you adult life, a precious moment of conversion from a sinful and worldly way of life to a life of discipleship. Remember how eager you were to follow Christ at that time, perhaps you were even joyful at the prospect of embracing the Cross of discipleship with St. Paul:

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8 For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit of the spirit shall reap life everlasting.

9 And in doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing.

10 Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men,

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12 For as many as desire to please in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ.

13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law: but they will have you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.

Now, let us return to the present moment, and consider how far and how well we have persevered in that good sentiment, because it is of little to no advantage to have embraced the Cross once if we are not ready and willing to hold on to that Cross will all of our strength, through trials and temptations, persevering even to the end.

ILLUSTRATION

There was a pious lady who lay in her bed of sickness, enduring great pain. One day a friend came to visit her. When she saw the awful sufferings the good lady was enduring, she pointed to a crucifix which stood on a table near the bed, saying: “Let us ask our dear Lord to free you from these cruel pains, and I am sure He will not refuse to hear us.”

But the other answered, “What do you say? How can you keep your eyes on the cross and advise me to do that? It is just the sight of Jesus nailed to the cross that tells me that I also must remain nailed to my cross.”

“Ah!” replied her friend, “I see now where you obtain that courage which makes you suffer so patiently; but do you not sometimes wish that God would free you from your pains?”

“It is true,” she replied, “sometimes the pain seems almost more than I can bear, but then I think of Jesus on His cross, and I say to myself: ‘Jesus suffered for me more than I am suffering for Him, and He did not complain,’ and thus I feel encouraged to suffer still more. I do not with to be like the bad thief who desired to be taken off his cross, but rather like the good thief who wished to remain upon it; and like him I pray to Jesus to remember me now that He is in His heavenly kingdom.”

THIRD POINT: The wisdom of the Cross and the folly of the world

PRESENTATION

In the first chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes:

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18 For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness: but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God.

19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise: and the prudence of the prudent I will reject.

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22 For both the Jews require signs: and the Greeks seek after wisdom.

23 But we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:

24 But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.

These sentiments were echoed by Pope Benedict in his homily for Palm Sunday in 2006:

There was a time - and it has not yet been completely surmounted - in which Christianity was rejected precisely because of the Cross. The Cross speaks of sacrifice, it was said, the Cross is the sign of the denial of life. Instead, we want life in its entirety, without restrictions and without sacrifices. We want to live, all we want is to live. Let us not allow ourselves to be limited by precepts and prohibitions; we want richness and fullness - this is what was said and is still being said.

All this sounds convincing and seductive; it is the language of the serpent that says to us: "Do not be afraid! Quietly eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden!".

Palm Sunday, however, tells us that the great "Yes" is precisely the Cross, that the Cross itself is the true tree of life. We do not find life by possessing it, but by giving it. Love is a gift of oneself, and for this reason it is the way of true life symbolized by the Cross.

The Cross is then, truly the wood of life, because at all times the true wisdom of the faithful consists in loving and embracing the Cross of Christ. Seeking for ease, or honour, or pleasure is best left to others, the worldling and the faithless Christian, for us, the only thing we should seek, the only thing we should desire, is the Cross.

We must choose for ourselves what the world shuns, following the example of Our Blessed Lord on the Cross. If we hold fast to this wood, this plank of life then we are assured of being carried into port, far more securely and with greater ease, than the so-called wise and prudent, the learned and lettered, who know only the wisdom of the world.

ILLUSTRATION

Blessed Veronica of Binasco was the daughter of very poor parents, who had often great difficulty in procuring even the necessaries of life. So from her very infancy the child had to go to work, and received no education.

But she was a pious child, and very devout to Our Blessed Lady.

When she began to grow up, she had a great desire to learn to read. During the daytime she had no leisure for this, so she sat up at night when her parents had gone to rest, that she might learn to read. Still she made no progress, because she had no one to teach her.

One night, being very sad and weary, she asked Our Blessed Lady herself to come and teach her.

Mary appeared to her; but the poor child was terribly frightened when she saw her, and fell on the ground.

The Blessed Virgin said to her: “Don’t be afraid, my child; I myself have come to teach you. There are just three letters you need to learn, and when you have learned them you will have learned enough. The first one is white, the second is black, and the third one red.”

Veroinca said to Our Lady, “O Mary, dearest Mother, teach me what these letters mean.”

Mary answered: “The white one means purity of heart; the black one means compassion for poor sinners (for whom Jesus died) and zeal for their conversion; and the red one means devotion to the sufferings of Jesus. Study these three letters well, and it matters little whether or not you know anything else.”

Saying these words, Our Lady disappeared.

CONCLUSION

May God grant that we might keep before our eyes all that Our Blessed Lord said and did during His Sacred Passion, so that we may embrace our Cross, bearing patiently and even joyfully all the evils that come to us in this world. May we always recognize that true wisdom is found not in ease, or in honour, nor is it found in all the wisdom that the world may offer, but it is found in the Cross of Christ, the wood of life, our plank of salvation in the storm tossed sea of this life.

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