The Royal Road of the Holy Cross

To many, this is a hard saying, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.” But it will be much harder to hear that last word: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.”

All the servants of the Cross, who in their lifetime have conformed themselves to Him that was crucified, shall come to Christ their Judge with great confidence. Why then, are you afraid to take up your cross, which leads to the kingdom?

In the Cross is salvation.

In the Cross is life.

In the Cross is strength of mind.

In the Cross is joy of spirit.

In the Cross is height of virtue.

In the Cross is perfection of sanctity.

There is no health of soul, nor hope of eternal life, but in the Cross. Take up, therefore, your cross, and follow Jesus, and you shall go into life everlasting. He is gone before you, carrying His Cross, and He died for you upon the Cross, that you may also bear your cross, and love to die on the cross. Because if you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you are His companion in suffering, you shall also be His companion in glory.

Behold! In the Cross does all consist, and all lies in our dying. There is no other way to life and to true interior peace, but the Way of the Holy Cross and of daily mortification.

Go where you will, seek what you will, and you shall not find a higher way above, nor a safer way below, than the way of the Holy Cross.

Dispose and order all things according as you will and as seems best to you, and you will still find something to suffer, either willingly or unwillingly; and so, you shall always find the Cross.

For either you shall feel pain in the body or endure in your soul tribulation of spirit. Sometimes, God shall pull back consolation, other times you shall be afflicted by your neighbor, and what is more, you shall often be a trouble to yourself.

As long as it shall please God, you must bear it. For God wills that you learn to suffer tribulation without comfort and wholly submit yourself to Him to become more humble by tribulation. For no man has so heartfelt a sense of the Passion of Christ as he who has had to suffer.

The Cross, therefore, is always ready, and every where awaits you. You cannot escape it, whether you run, wherever you go, turn yourself upwards, turn yourself downwards, turn yourself inwards and outwards, for every where you shall find the Cross.

If you carry the Cross willingly, it will carry you and bring you to your desired end, namely, to that place where there will be an end of suffering.

If you carry the Cross unwillingly, you make it a burden to yourself and make it heavier to carry.

If you fling away one cross, without doubt, you will find another and perhaps heavier.

Do you think you can escape that which no mortal ever could avoid? What Saint ever was in the world without his cross and tribulation? For even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself was not for one hour of His Life without the anguish of His Passion.

So why do you seek another way than this royal way, which is the way of the Holy Cross?

The whole life of Christ was a Cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek for yourself rest and joy?

What an error it is to seek anything else than to suffer tribulations, for this whole mortal life is full of miseries, and everywhere marked with crosses.

The higher a person is advanced in spirit, the heavier crosses he shall often meet with, because the pain of his banishment increases in proportion to his love. Yet, such a one, though many ways afflicted, is not without some relief of consolation, because he is sensible of the very great profit, he reaps by bearing the Cross.

For while he willing resigns himself to it, all the burden of tribulations is converted into an assured hope of comfort from God. Anh the more the flesh is brought down by afflicted, the more is the spirit strengthened by interior grace.

And sometimes he gains such strength through affection to tribulation and adversity, by his love of conformity to the Cross of Christ, he wills not to be without suffering and affliction, because such a one believes himself to be so much more acceptable to God, the more and more grievous things he shall have endured for His sake.

This is not man’s power, but the grace of Christ, which can affect great things in frail flesh, and that which the flesh natural abhors and flies, even this, through fervor of spirit, it now embraces and loves:

To bear the Cross, to love the Cross, and to chastise the body and bring it under subjection. To fly honors, to love to suffer insults, to despise oneself, and wish to be despised. To bear all adversities and losses, and to desire no prosperity in this world – all this is not according to man’s natural inclination, for if you look into yourself, you can do nothing of this sort.

But if you are confident in the Lord, strength will be given to you from Heaven, and the world and the flesh shall be made subject to you. Neither shall you fear your enemy the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with the Cross of Christ.

Set yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear manfully the Cross of your Lord, for the love of Him who was crucified for you.

Prepare yourself to suffer many adversities and diverse evils, in this miserable life, as it will be with you, where you are, and so indeed will you find it, wherever you hide.

It must be so, and there is no remedy against tribulation and sorrow, but to bear them patiently. Leave consolations to God, to do with them as He pleases.

For when you bear patiently your tribulation, it shall be sweet to you and you shall relish it for the love of Christ and be confident that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.

But as long as suffering is grievous to you, and you seek to fly from it, so long shall it be ill with you, and the desire of flying from tribulations shall pursue you everywhere.

Instead, know that you ought to suffer and to die for Christ, the quicker you shall find peace. With good reason you should be willing to suffer a little for Christ, since many suffer greater things for the world.

Know for certain that you must lead a dying life, and the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live towards God, for no man is fit to comprehend heavenly things who has not resigned himself to suffer adversities for Christ.

Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more beneficial for you in this world, than to suffer willingly for Christ. And if you could make a choice, you should prefer to suffer adversities for Christ, then to be delighted with much consolation, because thus you would more resemble Christ, and be likened to all the Saints.

For our merit and the advancement of our state consists not in having many sweetness and consolations, but rather in bearing great afflictions and tribulations.

If, indeed, there had been anything better and more beneficial to man’s salvation, than suffering, Christ certainly would have showed it by word and example.

For He manifestly exhorts both His disciples that followed Him, and all that desire to follow Him, to bear the cross, saying, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

So that when we have read and searched all, let this be the final conclusion, that, “through many tribulations we must into the kingdom of God.”

Say, then, in the time of suffering, in order not to fail, “Hell, which I have deserved, is something more horrible than anything I can now endure, yet, my Savior has suffered much more for me, and Heaven is worth infinitely more than I can undergo.”

Penetrate my heart, O Jesus, with these sentiments when You send me pains, and support me in all my afflictions! You know how naturally I hate and fly from the Cross, although I am persuaded that it was by the Cross, You saved me, and that I can’t gain salvation, nor enter into Heaven, but by the way of Calvary. Inspire me with that patience, that strength, and that courage which You did impart to Your martyrs, and since I can’t better show my love and gratitude towards You than by suffering for You, nor render myself more worthy of Your grace and glory than by carrying the Cross, vouchsafe to support me when sinking under its burden by the desire of pleasing You, and the hope of eternal happiness.

Amen

Source

The Catholic Educator

Original 1889 Publication

John Gilmary Shea, 1824 - 1892

Historical Theologian, "Father of American Catholic History"