the third day, he will be raised to life again” (St. Matthew, ch. 20, 18-19). St. Luke and St. Mark repeat these words with a few verbal variations (St. Luke, ch. 18, 31; St. Mark, ch. 10, 32).

His death was to be fruitful; it would give life to many. Like the grain of wheat it had to die in order to bear a rich harvest. By His crucifixion, Jesus would draw all men to Himself : “And I shall draw all men to myself when I am lifted up” (John 12, 32).

This loving design, this divine purpose must be kept in mind when we consider the suffering and death of Jesus. As St. John expresses it; “Jesus knew that His hour had come and He must leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved His own who were in the world, and now He was to show the full extent of His love.” How fully Jesus showed this love for us men is seen in the story of the passion we have just read.

Now we can pause here quietly and prayerfully reflect on a few statements of Saint Paul :

“Christ never knew sin and God made Him into sin for us, so that in Him we might be turned into the holiness of God” (2 Corinth. 5, 21).

“You do not need to be reminded how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ was; how He made Himself poor for your sakes, when He was rich, so that you might become rich through His poverty (2 Corinth. 8, 9).

“Who can be our adversary, if God is on our side? He did not even spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all; and must not that gift be accompanied by the gift of all else? Who will come forward to accuse God’s chosen ones, when God acquits us? Who will pass sentence against us, when Jesus Christ who died, nay, has risen again and sits at the right hand of God, is pleading for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? In all this we are victorious, through Him who has given us His love” (Romans 8, 31 ff).

MY SUFFERING AND DEATH

It is worth the effort to try to MEET CHRIST in His sufferings. It can be a truly soul-stirring experience that can make a tremendous difference to a man’s or a woman’s whole life.

The truth is that each of us has his or her own sufferings in life, his or her own cross to carry. And one day, each of us will die. Suffering and death are the story of everyone. There is no escape.

I can change my suffering and death into a precious prayer and offering, if I can offer them to God the Father, in and with Christ, His Son. I can offer my life and death to God as a gift – offering to atone for my sins. And I can be sure that He will accept my offering if I make it sincerely.

If you can do that with faith and confidence in God’s great love for you, you will find it a rich experience.

If you can do it sincerely, why not try? You have nothing to lose. You can make your offering in the depths of your own heart. Perhaps the following words may help.