20. PRAYING THE LIFE OF JESUS: THE FOURTH SORROWFUL MYSTERY - THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS

APPETIZER:  "The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men”. But because he was God become human, Christ has united himself to every human  person and given us “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the mystery of his death and resurrection". He calls his disciples to “take up the cross and follow him”, for “Christ also suffered for us, giving us an example so that would enable us to follow in his steps.” In fact Jesus desires to associate the saving power of his cross with all who open themselves to its blessings.  Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes. (CCC #618, #2015)

MAIN COURSE: Let's unpack a little bit of the CCC quote above because it uses quite a bit of theological official Church speak.  Basically, it is telling us that God the Son became human so that he could save or redeem us AS ONE OF US and not as some far-off distant God who has lived experience of who we are and how we live. It is also informing us that Jesus wants us to participate in our own salvation. Taking up the cross and sacrificing ourselves out of love for God and others like Jesus did is not a "spectator sport" for Christians. The Cross (which has some to symbolize sacrificial love) is at the very heart of any genuine Christian spirituality. 

This is why it has become the #1 symbol of Christianity. We begin and end our prayers with the Sign of the Cross.  We begin our Christian lives at baptism with the Sign of the Cross bering traced upon our foreheads. We end of lives on earth with this same Sign of the Cross being made over us in death at our  funeral. We bless our food and our holy objects with he Sign of the Cross. We enshrine our homes with the Sign of the Cross,  hanging it upon our walls. We often proclaim our relationship with Jesus by wearing the sign of the Cross as a silent ever-present profession of faith. But for all of these things to be genuine expressions of faith and not simply superstitious objects or actions, the Sign of the Cross that we exhibit outwardly must be a reflection of the spirituality of the Cross that we cherish inwardly. 

The spirituality of the Cross is rooted in the Great Commandments Jesus gave us: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Mt 22:37-39).  Did you notice the ordering of love that Jesus himself gives us? We must love God first, others second and ourselves and then show this "ordering of love" in our daily lives and actions. This is precisely what Jesus did in the Passion which we are pondering in these Sorrowful Mysteries. 

The spirituality of the Cross is nourished by prayer and the sacraments.  We cannot find power in and of ourselves to keep loving and living unselfishly like Jesus did. This is impossible for human beings to do without the help of God's grace. So we turn to God for this help which he freely and willingly bestows upon us through our personal prayer and by our devout mindful reception of the Sacraments, particularly Reconciliation and Eucharist. The proof that human beings can be successful in sacrificial love with God's grace is shown to us in the lives of the saints. They give countless examples of ordinary Christians like us, in every walk of life and every age group, successfully living and loving like Jesus to the best of their ability.

The spirituality of the Cross finds a genuine expression in one's life by Christian asceticism.   Christian asceticism is intentional self-denial and penitential practices embraced for the sake of growing in love. Also called "penance", it is NOT some sort of self-punishment, or a stoic self-conquering goal. Its sole reason is growing in love. It we are not people of prayer and penance, then we are not living as authentic Christians in our everyday lives.  Without a daily commitment to some expression of prayer and penance, we are not walking the way of the Cross with Christ.

The spirituality of the Cross is at the heart of every Church-approved message which the Blessed Mother has brought to us from Heaven.  Now, it is true that no one is obliged to believe in  the reality of the visions or heed any of the messages given through what are called "private revelations". They are called "private" because these things happen to individuals and can even be influenced by a genuine visionary's emotions and psychology. This is a solid teaching of the Church.  We are, of course, obliged to believe in and follow what is called "public revelation" which means the Scriptures and official Teachings of the Church. This is called "public" because God has chosen o reveal these things to us for our salvation through his Beloved Son. 

But be that as it may, when we examine the genuine visions of Mary her messages always contain some form of calling us to prayer and penance. At Lourdes she called for "penitence" three times and had St. Bernadette pray the rosary each time she came. At Fatima Our Lady brought her "peace plan from Heaven" which centered upon offering up our daily duties in a sacrificial spirit and asking us to pray the rosary daily. At Beauraing and Banneux (both in Belgium, 1930's) she asked that we "pray always" and that we "always be good" (which is a childlike way of describing self-denial for the sake of others). At Kibeho in Rwanda in the 1980's (and now approved by the Church) the Blessed Mother of the Word (as she called herself) begged for prayers in reparation for sin and penances to make up for those who keep offending God. We can see in these examples how the spirituality of the Cross  is central to all authentic forms of Christian devotion.

History of the Symbol of the Cross: Whether hung on  a wall, worn around the neck, or tattooed on the body the  Sign of the Cross takes two basic forms (although each form has a myriad of variations): a plain Cross or a Crucifix (that is, a cross with the body of Jesus on it). People mistakenly think that these two different styles represent the two main branches of Christianity - Protestant and Catholic.  But that's not entirely true. Both forms are 100% Catholic since both forms were in use long before the splintering of the Church during the 16th century Protestant Reformation. And many of the Liturgical-based Protestant denominations (such as Episcopalian and Lutheran) use the crucifix as well.  The difference is found simply in meaning and in preference. 

The plain Cross is the original ancient symbol.  As far as it being displayed in art or in any 3-D form, this did not happen until at least the 4th-5th century AD.  We have to remember that the cross to those first generations of Christians was the horrid sign and reminder of Roman execution.  However, the use of the Sign of the Cross as a sacred gesture was used among Christians from about the year 200AD onwards. At first people simply made the small crosses such as we trace upon ourselves during the Gospel at Mass today. Later on it became the larger more common Sign of the Cross with which we are so familiar. At the time of the Protestant Reformation some of the protestors adopted the plain Cross simply as a way of distinguishing themselves from the Catholics. But many Catholic saints of that time also adopted the plain Cross as their main symbol, such St. Teresa of Avila, who made it the official Cross of her Discalced Carmelite religious order because she said that the plain Cross reminds us of penance and that we should take up our Cross with Jesus.

The Crucifix started to be used after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire.  The Christian-friendly Emperor Constantine outlawed the capital punishment of crucifixion out of respect for Christ.  Since it was safe to display one's Christian faith and since crucifix was no longer a tortuous punishment, church decor and religious art began to make use of it. Interestingly, the first Crucifixes were not gory replicas of Jesus' death but showed him victorious and triumphant upon the Cross, often dressed like a high priest or king. But as the centuries moved on and Christian meditation upon and devotion to the Passion increased, both paintings and sculptures began to show a more realistic rather than symbolic Jesus upon the Cross. In most of Europe where nudity itself did not have a sinful stigma (has it had in the UK and USA) it was even common to show the full reality of Roman crucifixion by having a nude Christ upon the Cross instead of a body covered with a loin cloth. The Romans crucified their victims nude for maximum public humiliation.

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking during the day.

From our Catholic Tradition: The Stations of the Cross.  From the earliest days of Christianity, pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Christ's Passion the road to Calvary. Tradition holds that the Blessed Mother herself led the example by making daily visits to the sites of her Son's sufferings, death and resurrection following his ascension into Heaven. More than 2,000 years later, however, Christians are still honoring the Passion of Jesus and being inspired to "take up the cross" through penance by praying a devotion that has come to be known as the Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross.  

Born out of widespread devotion to the Passion of Christ in the 12th and 13th centuries, this devotion began to develop and spread throughout the Catholic world through the ministry of the Franciscan Friars who were granted custody of the Christian shrines in the Holy Land in 1342.  When it became dangerous for Christians to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem because of the hostile Muslim takeover of the Holy Land, the Franciscans (and then others) began to erect the Stations of the Cross in parish churches as a substitute for the actual pilgrimage.  The is why the Stations have the unique requirement of having to be walked while praying.

The Stations of the Cross take the 5 Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary and expand upon them for our meditation.  It quickly became the custom to pray the Way of the Cross on Fridays of the year and in some places daily during Lent. 

The Stations are a mix of Gospel events and pious stories from Christian tradition as follows:

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus carries His cross
3. Jesus falls for the first time
4. Jesus meets His mother, Mary
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls for the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls for the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His clothes
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is placed in the tomb

Quotes from Our Catholic Tradition

“In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross” (Tertullian, c. 250 AD)

“Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified.  Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in our goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are traveling, and when we are at rest” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, cd. 386 AD) 

Prayer to Memorize: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you; because by your holy Cross you have deemed the world!

Scripture Verse to Memorize: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34)