Father Nicolas Schwizer
I would like to invite you at the beginning of this Holy Week to accompany Jesus, to become one with Him, to actualize his Passion (feel the effect of his Passion) because it is not enough to write, remember or admire those great events regarding Jesus.
But, how can we accompany Him in his Passion and Death? We can do it, especially, if – for love of Him – we valiantly accept our own cross, our pain and personal sufferings in all their forms and appearances.
And if we not only accept all the adversities of our life, but that we also offer them joyfully to the Lord.
Easter is only made possible by means of the Passion. We arrive at the Resurrection only by means of the Cross, like Jesus and with Him. To accept and offer our cross should be our small personal contribution for the redemption of the world…..that which Jesus fulfilled by his Passion and Death.
During Mass, upon presenting to God the offerings of bread and wine, I invite you to place also on the paten your own suffering…..your personal cross…..so that God may accept them along with the suffering and Cross of his Son, Jesus Christ.
It is to enliven that acclamation which – after the Consecration of the Mass – we all say together: “We proclaim your death, we proclaim your Resurrection, until You come in Glory.”
What does that mean? It is not only the remembrance and the inner participation in his death. It also means that we commit ourselves to proclaim his death in our daily life. It means that we strive daily to die to sin and selfishness. What must die in me? What things make the surrendering of my heart so difficult, the surrendering of my will?
At Mass, I go up to Jesus on the Cross and let myself be nailed to it. But I must then remain nailed on the Cross daily and for the entire week until the next Mass. I must proclaim the death of the Lord during the day.
During the day, I must show that I have surrendered my will totally to the Will of the Father. I must demonstrate this through the small sacrifices and the daily renunciations which God and the others ask of me. If I am not disposed to this, I leave the Cross and leave Christ alone with his Cross…..I renounce proclaiming the death of the Lord.
And the meaning of all our striving, of our daily struggle is always the same: As in the Consecration of the Mass – bread and wine become the Body and Blood of the Lord – likewise we also become transformed into Christ. The mystery of the Cross in our life is the mystery of a holy transformation, a becoming Christ-like, divine-like. And in the measure in which we become like Christ, we see – with other eyes – the suffering, all the daily difficulties, all the worries and concerns, all the small daily battles. In the depth of our soul, this ceases to make us unhappy.
Even if the eyes are filled with tears, the heart is on God. It remains in peace, serene, happy. Oh how we desire this transformation! In time, it will become a reality: The soul will become divine-like. We will no longer live, but Christ will live in us.
So then, in union with His sacrifice, our gifts will also be transformed and will be infinitely fruitful.
Thus our entrance to the heavenly Jerusalem, the goal of our life, will be as joyful and happy as the entrance of the Lord which we recall on Palm Sunday.
Questions for reflection
1. Do I lament my Crosses?
2. Am I like those who say or think: Lord, why me?
3. Do I offer my crosses during Mass?