The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission. Like the apostle Paul, we “preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2: 2). If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body (cf. 2 Cor 4:10). (Constitution 4)
Those around us can become tired of our beautiful words, they want to SEE and experience the Paschal Mystery in and through us. If the Cross of Jesus Christ is really central in our lives, then it will automatically be visible.
Frequently, we tend to have a partial focus on the cross and forget that the cross is the door that opens to resurrection and the fullness of life. “Picking up our cross” daily is an invitation to recognize Jesus Christ’s suffering in our own suffering, His accompaniment in all that is dark and painful in our lives, to the point of crying out, with him, “My God , why have you forsaken me?”
Nevertheless, because the cross and resurrection is central to our lives and mission, “it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body.” It is only through the cross that we can be true pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the new life and the possibilities of the certainty of our Savior’s promise: “I am with you always, until the end of the world.”
The idea that I could be a witness to the Paschal Mystery brings me to tears…
For a moment I think of Mary and her question to the angel Gabriel of “how can this be” but this morning as I have reflected on some of my greatest weaknesses, I continue to try to respond to love, the love of God, in and through others. Could this be a small way of being a witness to the Paschal Mystery?
One of God’s gifts is to see and experience the cross in the light of the Resurrection. The only way to do that (that I can see) is to die to ourselves and let go of all that distracts us from the invitation of the cross and resurrection. There can be a tendency to see only our unworthiness. To be a disciple, a servant we are invited to yes, pick up our crosses, to die to ourselves so as to experience a new way of being and living.
Even though I have a tendency sometimes to gloss over the depths of the words, there is within me, a desire to become a vessel which is filled with new wine, to be transformed rather than allowing myself to wallow in darkness. The Lord and the Oblate Charismatic Family once again invite my life to become one with the cross and so one standing in the light of the resurrection. That is how I want to respond to Constitution 4 and allow it to be a part of my daily bread.