“Everything is a reminder of the Cross.We ourselves are made in the shape of the Cross.” (Saint John Vianney).
For a while there I was having a rough time.
People who I had tried to rely on had let me down and I was struggling to regain my footing and rebuild the relationships that I had with them previously.
It was nothing drastic, but it was annoying and hurtful nonetheless…
And when I was going through that time the one thing that I had in my head was that the whole experience was a complete and utter waste of time. After all, I had not done anything wrong. In fact, I had just tried to let my guard down for once and allow someone else to assist me with something that was difficult for me to do alone. And instead of those other people helping out, I was stuck with drama and all manner of grief. And then – when all was said and done – the other people said sorry and we needed to begin the work of forgiveness (for it is very hard work to forgive) and simply begin again.
And I have been thinking about that, because it occurs to me that the work of forgiveness is almost overwhelming. It is a terrible burden to have to not only accept the hurt and grief of another’s wrong-doing, but also to understand that as a result of that original injustice, there is simply more that needs to be accounted for and dealt with, and that the work of doing that falls on the victim not the instigator of the abuse.
And there I was sitting very miserably, steeped in self-pity, considering the injustice of this when I was reminded of the words of Saint John Vianney, who said, “Everything is a reminder of the Cross. We ourselves are made in the shape of the Cross.”
And right there and ten, I was reminded of the shape of the Cross and therefore the Cross itself…
You see, I am flawed and imperfect and sinful. And that means that though I get annoyed at the work od forgiveness, I am a soul who requires forgiveness and therefore a soul who is affected by forgiveness and requires forgiveness. And yet Christ – who is the perfect Sacrifice and Victim – was required to do the work of forgiveness on the Cross, even though His is a soul that never requires forgiveness itself.
And while He was hanging there in agony, He did not rage at the rest of us. He did not cry about the injustice of needing to repair something that He had never (and would never) destroyed in the first place. Instead, using His final breaths on this Earth, and thirsting for souls to forgive and redeem, Christ said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
And when I think about that today, I hang my head in shame. For in everything, I have forgotten the Cross… I have simply forgotten the Cross…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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