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Reflection
Any experience of suffering can leave us struggling for words to make sense of it. At such times we might hear reference to the ‘Mystery of the Cross’.
The image that often accompanies this language is that of the all-wise, all-knowing God who sends crosses to people that are ultimately for their own good. It is a curious fact, however, that Jesus never uses the language of the cross in that way.
For him the cross is the suffering that comes as a consequence of being faithful to the good news of the kingdom, the cross that comes from doing what Jesus did. By being faithful to the end, Jesus showed that evil will not triumph over good. We are asked to follow him by taking up our cross, that is by not seeking our own will first but the will of the Father who wants the world to be a place of peace and true justice. That is not an easy path to follow but it is the one that gives life.