The Cross

"Anyone who wants to be a true Christian, must mortify his flesh for no other reason but devotion to Jesus, who, for love of us, mortified His entire body on the cross." -- St Padre Pio


Why is that we avoid the Cross? Is it because we fear the pain in which sufferings bring. Is it the unwillingness to set our pride aside and to become humbled.  Is it that we fear others will see us not quite performing to the world's standard. It seems it's all of these but even more then that, it is the unwillingness to be made vulnerable.  In the cross we truly have to surrender to being humilitated and crushed.  We are asked to take on things that we may have never even thought about.  This idea seems so bizarre to most, and even to most Christians.  Why would anyone want to take on anothers sins? I mean if you have never dealt with perversity or unforgiveness why would you want to feel like your knee deep in these things, and just praying to breathe. 


I tell you the reason you are willing to take on these things is because Christ was willing.  Christ took upon himself our humanity and in his passion suffered for every sin of man.  So even Christ was exposed to perversity and unforgiveness and every other form of Sin.  Christ show us the narrow way.  He shows us how to operate in the Divine and overcome sin for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  "Now rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my  flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" 1 Colossians: 24    

--Jason