THE CROSS, OUR LANDMARK

Fr M C Poulose


A seven-year-old girl one day lost her way. Nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, she spent several hours, bewildered and terrified and heartbroken. A man saw the young girl hopelessly crying. "What is the problem my dear child," asked the man."I'm lost", wailed the child. "Do not cry, I can take you home safely. Now, tell me where do you live?" "I am not sure", said the girl, "but lead me to the hill where the big wooden cross is; I can then find my way home." For the young girl that big wooden cross was her landmark. It was her symbol to come home.

There was a big wooden cross at a place called Golgotha nearly two thousand years ago. Year after year on Good Friday, we spent much time in meditation, prayer and adoration beneath the cross. It is in tasting Christ's passion on the cross that we can partake of His resurrection. By keeping and remembering Christ's cross at the center of our lives, our path will be enlightened and God's plan for us will come to fruition.

The act of remembering what Christ accomplished on that big wooden cross is simply not enough. This remembrance must lead us to the reality of the cross. Our Lord said, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." This calls for action and positive change. It is here that our faith in God is put to the test! What is this test?

First, we are called to 'deny' ourselves. The word 'deny' may be the most hated word in our society. Our modern age encourages us to deny God and to focus solely on ourselves. We are led to falsely believing that we are in charge while Christ reverses the order and tells us to deny ourselves and to focus solely on Him, because He is Lord and King. We are to deny our passions, temptations, and anything that will deter us from being close to God. We have to leave behind our selfish ways and to empty ourselves, so that God's will may abide in and work through us. We say in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done". To deny ourselves is not to lose our uniqueness as individuals, rather it is to reach our full potential as children of God.

Next we are told to 'pick up' our 'cross'. What is my cross? And what is your cross? This act of picking up our cross is different for each one of us. As Christ had His cross, we too have inherited our own. The cross can come to us in various ways. For some their cross might be a tragic life-threatening illness, while others might have what are seemingly less significant like dealing with ethical dilemmas. Whether your cross might be being falsely labelled or to be persecuted unjustly, the fact remains, that all of us have a cross to bear. We don't know why we are given a particular cross as opposed to our neighbors.


Finally, we are told to 'follow' Him. To follow Him each day of our lives, and throughout our lives. In following Him, our identity becomes Christ's. By denying ourselves in this world and picking up our cross, we walk daily to His Kingdom. At times, the cross may be burdensome, but the reward is eternal! One saint wrote, "The cross is the door to mysteries. Through this door the intellect makes entrance into the knowledge of heavenly mysteries." By experiencing the cross, we are able to share in the risen Christ.