Discovering the Joy of Christ in embracing and pondering the crucifix.
Recently during confession, my confessor asked me to remind myself that the joy of the priesthood was found in the cross we have been given and choose to share in Jesus Christ. In this case he asked me to look especially at a certain painting, in this case El Greco’s “Christ on the Cross”
When I went home that night I looked around and discovered dozens of Crosses around my rooms, my office and the whole rectory. I went into our Church building to again be surrounded by images of the Cross including the great crucifix placed above the altar in the sanctuary. But did I see joy?
Then I remembered years ago when I was do a catechism series using Bishop (then Father) Robert Barron’s Catholicism Series for a group of women. We came to one point where Bishop Barron was discussing the saving power of the cross and pointing out the joy of God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this very agonizing painting of Jesus on the cross. As we sought for ways to understand this in our lives, one of the women, a mother described it in this way. She said she would gladly suffer anything to know that her children were safe and would live. She would accept all the pain, abuse and torture to know they would live. And if she had to die for them, she would be alive in joy.
“But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14)

I believe this is the joy my confessor asked me to contemplate and embrace in the reality of the cross in my life. Making it very clear, the suffering and pain are real and in many cases necessary in the faith we embrace, as we embrace the cross.
One of my greatest temptations is to take God for granted and allowing the noise of the world to enter into the silence of God’s glory. This happens in prayer, is serving and in sharing time with others. It is the falling into the trap of allowing the smart phone to dictate the day rather than the relationships as we let drift by. It is choosing to run your life on a calendar/agenda rather than hearing the silent blessing of life and the joy of knowing another in the care and comfort of his embrace and our embrace of him in the insignificant worldly acts that become the life blood of joy filled moments.
It is just spending time hearing Jesus from the cross, where he whispers once more. “come and follow me!”
God bless