As we begin our Lenten journey, the core symbol of our faith is front and center before us: the cross! The cross is often misinterpreted, and many Christians don’t fully understand its significance. The cross is a symbol of human suffering. The cross is a Roman torture instrument. The cross means complete helplessness and extreme pain. The cross is the worst thing that could possibly happen to a person.
But it also means surrender. With every cross life offers us comes the invitation to accept it, embrace it, even to kiss the cross presented to us, as we do on Good Friday. When I can say with Christ, “Not my will but thy will be done,” then surrender happens. And in time, I become transformed by the cross. We learn that the worst thing that can happen to us becomes the doorway into transcendence, into our true being in Christ. As one spiritual writer put it, “The way of the cross is a complete reversal. It means that the worst thing in your life, your cross, turns into the best thing that ever happened to you.”
Jesus is calling us to embrace the cross of weakness this Lent. St. John of the Cross wrote, “Would that we might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross. The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.”
Mary, under her title Our Lady of Sorrows, is a model for all of us. She chose to pass through the narrow way out of her love for God and her beloved Son. She stood at the foot of the cross, grief-stricken and helpless before her Son’s pain and suffering. She is a reminder that we are all called to be at the side of all who carry heavy crosses: our immigrant families who live in fear of a member of their family being deported, those who care for loved ones suffering from a chronic or terminal illness, those who have lost a loved one to suicide, those who struggle with mental illness or those who find themselves in jail or in prison. Our Lady of Sorrows invites us to be at the side
of any who bear the cross of suffering, for that person is Christ.
In this Jubilee Year of hope, may we cling to the image of the cross and may hope sustain us as we embrace the cross that alone can transform us and bring everlasting joy.
Yours in Christ,
+ Bishop Patrick M. Neary, CSC is the 10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota.
OUR PRIORITIES
In the Diocese of St. Cloud, we:
Support the well-being and enrichment of our pastoral leaders
Engage synodality as a model for the Church
Foster a Eucharistic culture
Embrace the Latino presence
Plan strategically for the next phase of our ACCs
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