In the Shadow of the Cross

The other day I was praying in the chapel. As I looked at the Crucifix, I noticed something interesting. It casted a shadow on the wall that was somehow different. There was a bit of a shadow of a cross, but below it there seemed to be the shadow of someone jumping off, jumping for joy.

It got me thinking. In the shadow of the Cross of Christ is indeed victory because as we look at a Crucifix, more is there than what meets the eye. The Cross brings death but new life as well…death to old ways, death to sin, death to ourselves, and so through the Cross, we are reborn as we rise to new life with our Savior.

Truly, the triumph of the Cross is that death has been overcome. Our Father’s Son, his pride and joy showed that love conquers death. But what does that mean for us? It means something profoundly intimate and powerful. We have the opportunity of a lifetime, for eternity. This means that what was once closed off has been opened, what was once law has been fulfilled beyond, what was old is new, and we have the chance at new life. This is ours for the taking. In order to claim this victory, we must accept it, step into it, and allow it to change our lives.

What our Father did by allowing his Son to take the Cross was to make a way for us, not take away our own crosses…because we have to become like Christ on the Cross in order to find true freedom…But, because death has been conquered, we can do that, and daily conquer death in our struggles, both overwhelming and small. We also receive, for the asking, the grace daily to pick up our crosses, to find even joy in difficult situations, to be made new amidst what would seem to destroy us.

Just as each person has their own crosses, each of us has our own triumphs that the Resurrection brings for us. For some, it’s renewal of prayer and strengthening that has taken place on the journey in search for Christ or in preparation for Easter; for others, it’s peace. And, for others, it’s the beauty of the reminder of Christ’s Resurrection. What is true for all of us is that each of us can claim victory because of Good Friday. Heaven is full of joyful acclamation over the souls who’ve accepted renewal through Christ. If, for you, Easter is more subtle, perhaps even painful, remember that Christ was there to. He came for you, too, and you are loved. We don’t always allow this to sink in.

If you are carrying a heavy cross, be thankful that you are loved enough by our Father to see that some work needs to be done in you, that you need to be refined for some greater task, or that you’ve been chosen to sacrifice so that another soul could be saved. Even in the darkness, when we can’t see, our Father is always at work making a way for us. Find hope in the fact that Christ did rise to new life, and one day, you can, too.

We could all use this Eastertime to be thankful and bring to mind all of the times that we’ve been forgiven and for all of the times we’ve been rescued. These, too, are celebrations of the Cross. The truth is that we’ve all got some reason to celebrate because we’re alive, and we have a Father who loves us enough to send his Son to humiliate himself by becoming stripped, exposed, and tortured…to take on the inhumanity of humanity for humanity’s sake. Though we don’t always see it, we’ve been found without realizing we were lost and rescued more times than we deserve. And, He does it over and over again because our Father loves us no matter what and desires to be part of our lives. That is the true Gift we get at Easter…a lot of love and the freedom to accept it. Perhaps this is what it means to live in the shadow of the Cross…