By participating in the sufferings of our neighbours we participate in the sufferings of Jesus.

By participating in the sufferings of our neighbours we participate in the sufferings of Jesus.

 

 

When I read about the Passion of Christ, what strikes me most is how largely alone He was in His final hours.

 

Most of His beloved disciples, followers, and friends fled from Him and abandoned Him in His hour of need.

 

St. Peter, who was present when Jesus was being tried by His captors, went to the extent of denying Him thrice.

 

Only a few dedicated followers were with Him till the last; they included our beloved Mother and St. John.

 

Being in the Lenten Season, we have to examine whether we are with Jesus during His passion hours or away from Him minding our own business.

 

Won’t we expect our friends and relatives to be with us at our suffering hours?

 

In fact only those who share our suffering hours are our true friends.

 

What will we think about the people who share our joy but flee when we suffer?

 

What will Jesus think about us if we avoid His Cross but enjoy only the Easter?

 

Besides observing our Lenten practices as per the directions of the Church, we have another equally important God given duty to be done.

 

 

Jesus has commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

 

We are supposed to see Jesus in our neighbours and what we do to our neighbour we do to Jesus.

 

When we are with our suffering neighbours we are with suffering Jesus.

 

When we avoid our suffering neighbours we flee from the Passion of Christ as most of His Apostles did during His Passion hours.

 

We are not individuals, but members of the Mystical Body of Christ.

 

We are a communion.

We are connected to one another through the Holy Spirit at the deepest levels of our being.

 

We are the arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. of Christ, who is our head.

 

When one part of the Mystical Body suffers, we all suffer.

 

It is true even if we ignore it.

 

We must prove ourselves disciples of Christ and members of His Mystical Body, by loving one another and by participating in one another’s joys and sufferings,

 

It is not so easy, but so is our spiritual path.

 

We have chosen a narrow path which alone will lead to eternal joy.

 

There is no other go but to bear the sufferings, because without carrying our Cross we cannot enter Easter.

 

 “A man cannot be my disciple unless he takes up his own cross, and follows after me”.(Luke.14:27)

 

Our Lord and Savior died on the Cross and He tells us we must follow Him.

 

The Cross and death come before the Resurrection.

 

We must carry our cross and die for Jesus before our Resurrection.

 

When Jesus became man He united Himself with humanity, which too must be united in Him.

 

When Our Lord instituted His Church here on earth, He meant to unite all the mankind through it.

 

It is this unity that makes us love one another.

 

Love desires for the good of our neighbour.

 

The very same love forces us to take up the crosses of others too, which means, to participate in the sufferings of others.

 

We lighten the load of one another by carrying it together, as did Simon when he helped Jesus carry His Cross.

 

Thus by participating in the sufferings of our neighbours we participate in the sufferings of Jesus.

 

This is the best way of preparing ourselves for the joy of Easter.

 

Lourdu Selvam.

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