(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell)
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
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Lent and the Shadow of the Cross
There is legend of the Shadow of the Cross. Jesus is about ten years old. He is returning to His mother, perhaps from an errand. It is near evening, and the sun is sinking, casting long shadows on the ground. As Jesus approaches, He opens wide His arms, waiting for His mother to enfold Him in her embrace. Mary’s eyes are lit with joy, but it is an anxious joy, a sad joy, for on the ground in the shadow cast by her Son’s arms and body, she sees the cross.
Mary, the dearest of all God’s creatures, lived in the shadow of the cross. It could not be otherwise, since she was so closely related to Him who came to save the world by the cross. The Bible tells us little about Mary’s life; it was a hidden existence. Yet, what little we read of Mary in the Scriptures is in some way or other connected with the cross. When Jesus was born, Mary had the sorrow of a young mother who could not provide a warm, comfortable home for her Child. When the Holy Family fled to Egypt, Mary was in continual fear of the enemies of her Babe. Days of grief were Mary's when for three days she sought Him sorrowing. Her supreme day of sorrow came as she stood by the cross of her Jesus.
Mary was always in the shadow of the cross because she was always so near to Jesus. Those who, like her, wish to walk with our Lord, must also walk in the shadow of the cross. He has told us that unless we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily, we cannot be His disciples.
Our cross is not a wooden one. There are no iron nails to pierce the hands and feet. There is no crown of thorns to make the brow throb with agony. There is no lance to open one’s heart. Our cross comes in a different way.
Does not the sickness or death of a loved one pierce the heart like a lance? Worry, work, weariness crushes our souls to the ground as our Redeemer’s soul was crushed in the garden. Christ was often lonely because His friends did not understand Him. Are we not often lonely because friends and relatives are ungrateful, forgetful of favors, some-times even mean? Christ was tempted. We are tempted.
Whether we choose or not, we must walk in the shadow of the cross. Every human being has his hour of agony. The pity of it is that so few really understand where the shadow comes from. We Catholics understand, at least in part, for when we see the shadow of suffering and death and trouble falling around us, we look up to the tree that casts the shadow, the tree of the cross. On it we see our beloved Savior, who explains it all to us.
Jesus fasted forty days. On March 5, we begin our forty days of penance. We do want to be real followers of Christ. We are going to take up some little, voluntary penance as our part in this season of Lent. We are going to abstain from this or that in order to make ourselves just a little bit more like Christ, who fasted for forty days.
You would be surprised at the large number of followers of the mortified Christ, even in the bustling world of today. Seldom do you see their penances. Still more seldom do you hear about them. These people do not parade their piety. They love Christ sincerely. Out of love and gratitude for what He has done for them they are willing to make sacrifices. They do not look for excuses. Rather, they seek ways in which they can imitate the suffering Christ. I mention this because there are some who think that nobody does penance these days. They falsely reason that because Mother Church has lightened some of her regulations, there is no longer need or place for penance. Mortification is still a mark of the true follower, of the Master.
You might ask, “How can I lead a life of self-denial?” I answer, “By living a good Christian life.” Does that mean I must scourge myself, Live on bread and water, say long prayers, go without sleep and other comforts? Not at all. We can lead a good Christian life in the following way:
First, deny yourself what God and the Church of God forbid. Secondly, do conscientiously what God and His Church command. The commandments tell us exactly what God wants and what God does not want. The best penance is to keep His laws exactly.
Over and above this, the real Christian will do things which are difficult but not of strict obligation. He will do without things to which he has a right; he will adopt some practice that requires an effort.
Indeed, doing the little tasks of every day is the kind of self-denial Christ wants. It is carrying your cross and following Jesus. Daily duties become delightfully easy if one does his or her best, as Christ would have it.
There, brothers and sisters, is your shadow of the cross. Don’t be afraid. Walk in that shadow, at least during Lent. For where the shadow is, we find the cross. On that cross hangs One who is watching every act and who’s suffering is lightened because He sees that He is not altogether alone. The shadow of the cross points to Good Friday and Calvary. But after Good Friday comes Easter, an earthly and eternal Easter of joy.
© 2004 – Victor R. Claveau
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"We do not become perfect by the multiplication of exercises,
penances and austerities, but rather by the purity
of love with which we do them."
-St. Francis de Sales