FW: Easter Meditation

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Book 2 Chapter 12: On the Royal Road to the Cross

“Anyone who wishes to follow Me must deny self, take up the cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

It is not by accident that on this Friday we are given the message of the Way of the Cross.  It was on Friday that Christ was crucified and died for our sins.  While I did not plan this reading today, Christ planned it for us. Take the time to spend an extra few minutes meditating on the joyful wonders on the cross. The last chapter in Book 2 on the Interior Life is all about seeking the cross – not avoiding it. Being a follower of Christ and trying to imitate His life is not an easy task.  Christ calls all of us to “Come follow Me”.  This message was first given to His Apostles and now it is given to each of us.  We have the choice; we can follow Him or we can deny Him.  To follow Him, you will need your cross.  If on your judgment day you do not have your cross, how do you expect to get into heaven?  Those who “made themselves like Christ Crucified, will go with great confidence before Christ their judge.”  When the rich man confronted Christ and asked what he needed to do to get into heaven, Jesus told him to give up everything and “Come follow Me.”  This was too great a burden and left very sad. He could not carry the cross. To take up the cross means to give up everything for Christ; not just one hour on Sunday or the occasional retreat. We must live for Christ 24-7. Without the cross there is no hope of salvation.  We must remember that Christ was sent to show us the way, the truth and the light.  Jesus went before us carrying His cross on which He gave His life for us out of His unselfish love for us. Bearing the cross means that we must accept the suffering in our life for our ultimate salvation.  It is through our daily mortification that we strengthen our souls and open the path into Heaven.  You will always find some level of suffering in your life; there will be some burden that you can offer up to the Lord.  In recognizing Christ in everything, even in suffering, you begin to recognize and accept the crosses in your life. God wants us to learn to suffer tribulation without comfort so that we can learn to put all our trust in Him.  How can we enjoin Christ unless we enjoin Him on that glorious cross?  We are called to “lift high the cross” in our daily lives.  When we encounter the cross, we encounter ourselves.  If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry you and bring you to that narrow gate where Christ will lower you from its great burden and comfort you in His arms.  No cross, no Christ.  No Christ, no heaven.  Like Christ, we must “suffer these thing and so enter into [our] glory” (Luke 24:26).  If you truly desire to be with Him and to be one of His closest friends so you can share in what He has, you must drink from the same cup that he drank from.  Not only does He ask us to come follow him, but he also asks if you can drink from His cup.  It is not just listening to Him, but we must put into action his words including the cross. We must not run away from suffering, but run to it.  Do you seek pain medication to dull your senses or do you work through the pain to see the other side? If you love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, then you will love Him through all the pain. “Oh that you are worthy to suffer something for the Name of Jesus!” We must realize that “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships before we enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).  May our Lord Jesus Christ bring us there in all His glory!

A Simple Pray

Lord, you died on the cross for me.

Let me burden that same cross in all its glory and wonder

So that I may experience the hardships that take me into the kingdom of Heaven. 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon