Archbishop Dolan has a little known book out entitled To Whom Shall We Go?, which is a series of reflections on the Gospel passages surrounding the relationship between Christ and St. Peter. I have been reading it lately after being so incredibly inspired by recent excursions to the Basilica of St. Peter to have Mass with the rest of the PNAC (Pontifical North American College) community, and a recent Scavi tour--a tour of the excavations below the basilica, which contains the bones of St. Peter himself!
I had taken the Scavi tour before, but for whatever reason, this time was special. Maybe it was due to the fact that I took the tour with a group of fellow brother seminarians who understood and appreciated the experience as much as I did, making it more prayerful and significant. I can't fully describe the Scavi tour itself, but I can say that after leaving the tour, I was speechless. I really began to understand, on a different level than ever before, the man who is St. Peter, Christ's 'right hand man,' and the rock upon which Christ built His Church. However, one does not need to come to Rome, necessarily, in order to encounter Peter, and hopefully Christ, in such a way. Granted, it would be a wonderful blessing to do so, but we can encounter Christ and the people He surrounded Himself with through the Gospels.
The Gospels should be our primary source of coming to know Christ. However, Archbishop Dolan's book does a wonderful job of supplementing the Gospel passages with his own personal reflections on the life of St. Peter and his interaction with Christ. Although I could harp about all the wonderful things that I have learned from the Archbishop's words, I want to single out one aspect that both Christ and Peter knew very well--the Cross.
In short, the Cross is what brings us salvation. Thus, it is only necessary that we participate in the Cross that Christ endured in order to hope for salvation. That is something that I have encountered more intimately since arriving in Rome--the redemptive suffering that Christ exemplified on the Cross. As I have mentioned previously, I have encountered a number of difficulties since arriving in Rome. Before I cause scandal I must emphasize that they are natural, healthy, difficulties, such as struggling to adapt to a new environment, missing family and friends at times, etc. However, it is through the various difficulties in our life (or mini-crosses, if you will) that we encounter Christ more than ever.
Is that really surprising to us? As Christ says in Luke's gospel, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (9:23). Jesus describes it so clearly, and yet, it is so incredibly difficult for us to accept. Why? Because we live in a world that wants us to forget that principle. Let me borrow the words of the Archbishop:
"Satan tries to convince us that the Cross [is] a sign of failure; Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us it's a sign of victory. Facing and embracing our Cross is the way to our salvation--and that's why Satan hates it! That's why he tries to talk us out of it, because he doesn't want us to reach salvation" (Dolan 71).
What it most impressing, in my opinion, about the passion of our Lord is the fact that He carried it out in complete humility and submission to the will of the Father. When He was betrayed by His best friends, He remained silent and committed to the will of the Father. When He was judged unjustly, He remained silent and committed to the will of the Father. When He was scourged, spat upon, beaten, mocked, all with the weight of the Cross bearing down upon Him, He remained silent and committed to the will of the Father. Finally, when He was nailed to the Cross and left to die, He remained faithful to the Father, even forgiving those who crucified Him. There is a beautiful line in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," when Mary says to herself with such emotion: "My Son...when, where, how...will You choose to be delivered of this?" This perfectly exemplifies the humility of Christ in that at any moment He could have delivered Himself from the passion, yet, He remained silent and committed to the will of the Father.
Certainly, we could learn all there is to learn about embracing the Cross through Christ. However, I think Mary exemplifies the sweetness of the Cross in just as admirable a way. As Christ told the apostles to "watch and pray," so does Mary throughout the entire passion. She embraces her cross just as Christ did. How greatly she must have grieved to witness her only son handed over to be condemned, scourged, crucified, and killed before the public. Yet, she embraced the cross by walking with Him every step of the way. Yes, we can learn much from Mary's example, for we are not called, nor are we able to achieve salvation on our own with or without the Cross--it's Christ who does the saving. However, we are called to participate in Christ's suffering, that we may be united with Him through His suffering. Mary does that perfectly. She unites herself with her son, piercing her own heart in the process, and sharing in Christ's suffering. Mary, too, remained silent and committed to the will of the Father.
We all have crosses in our lives, some easier than others. In any event, let us strive to embrace the cross we are given, not for our own benefit, but to participate in Christ's suffering--the suffering that was born from unconditional, unending love for us all. We can't expect to bear our crosses for our own personal gain. What would be the purpose of suffering if it was only directed to ourselves? Rather, our suffering must be directed to God, who is Love, and suffered for us because of His immense love. Can't we strive to do the same in return?
