Way of the Cross

4 Introduction Then Jesus said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) J esus beckons us to follow. Will we? Will we set aside our own ways this day, and every day, to follow the Lamb wherever he goes? Life on earth is a pilgrimage. The Way of the Cross gives us stations, stopping points where we can pause to con- template who it is we are following. By drawing close to Jesus in prayer, and especially in the Eucharist where we receive his own Body and Blood, we obtain from him the strength to follow him wherever he goes. “The very least one of Christ’s sufferings was sufficient of itself to redeem the human race of all sins,” teaches Saint Thomas Aquinas. Why, then, did the eternal Son of God, made flesh for our salvation, suffer unimaginable pain for us, not only in his body but also in his soul—suffering like no other? Saint Paul says, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me (Galatians 2:20). Why did Jesus suffer so? The answer is love: love for each one of us. Each of us can receive the grace to say the same as Saint Paul. Each of us can have our lives com- pletely taken up into the life of Christ, who loved his own in the world and loved them to the end (John 13:1).