In the reflection of His death on the Cross, Jesus said to Sister Faustina: “All this is for the salvation of souls. Consider well, My daughter, what you are doing for their salvation.” Then Sister Faustina said: “I saw the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross. When He had hung on it for a while, I saw a multitude of souls crucified like Him. Then I saw a second multitude of souls, and a third. The second multitude were not nailed to [their] crosses, but were holding them firmly in their hands. The third were neither nailed to [their] crosses nor holding them firmly in their hands, but were dragging [their] crosses behind them and were discontent.”
Naturally, this makes us think about how we carry or treat our own Cross, how Jesus sees us, and which multitude I’d fall into…
Then Jesus said: “Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory. And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblance to Me in glory (Diary, 446).”
In this life we will experience ‘pain and contempt’ for following the way of Jesus, by teaching His commandments, by testifying to the Truth. In our Gospel we just heard that dialogue with Pilate, “Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””
In this world that follows many gods and saviors, this world that proclaims many different and competing truths, when we listen to the voice of Jesus Christ and proclaim the truth that He is the one and only Savior, we will most likely be rejected like He was. That rejection will be a Cross for just us as it was for Him, but we have to remember that our Cross is actually His Cross. So when we suffer, we must know that we are being united to Him, resembling Him. We need to resemble Him on earth to resemble Him in the Glory of Heaven.
In our first reading we heard the prophecy of Isaiah where he says, “He surrendered himself to death.” Many of you have heard about the Surrender Novena. The word “Surrender” is found often in scripture.
To “surrender ourselves to death” will first mean that we have to die to our own sinful attachments, removing our sinful pride, and risking our popularity and status in the eyes of the world. That is what happens when we proclaim the Truth and the response required by realizing Jesus Christ is our savior: we must listen to His voice, obey and teach His commands.
The prophet Isaiah said, "If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him…. Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."
By uniting ourselves to Jesus Christ, bearing our Cross and surrendering ourselves to death, we take part in His saving work. In this way our lives become “an offering for sin” or a reparation for the sins of others, we are able to intercede for transgressors and “win pardon for their offenses.” This reality is echoed in the New Testament by James, “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
See, the cross of Jesus is truly a cross of mercy, a cross of love that seeks the salvation of every soul. Despite the pain and contempt, we may face, we should want to participate in His saving work, to help others know of the love and forgiveness and peace found only with Jesus Christ.
As you come forward to venerate the Cross today, ask God to help you to embrace His Cross in your own life. Consider well… what you are doing for [the] salvation of yourself and others. Ask for strength and courage. Ask to resemble Him more and more. “Jesus, my Savior, hide me in the depth of Your heart that, fortified by Your grace, I may be able to resemble You in the love of the Cross and have a share in Your glory. Amen.” (Homily of Fr. Andy Upah)
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