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Royal Road
The
Royal Road of the Holy Cross
TO
MANY the saying, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,"
seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: "Depart
from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. "Those who hear the word of the
cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal
damnation on the day of judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens
when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during
life made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to
Christ, the judge.
Why,
then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In
the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from
enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is
strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue,
in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of
everlasting life but in the cross.
Take
up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He
Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for
you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die
with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you
shall also share His glory.
Behold,
in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends.
There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy
cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will
not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the
holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and
still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or
unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross.
Either
you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit in
your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times
The
cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you
may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and
shall always find yourself. Turn where you will -- above, below, without, or
within -- you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have
patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If
you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal
where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you
carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load,
though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find
another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man
can ever avoid? Which of the saints was without a cross or trial on this earth?
Not even Jesus Christ, our Lord, Whose every hour on earth knew the pain of His
passion. "It behooveth Christ to suffer,
The
whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and
enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek
anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with
crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so
much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases,
the pain of his exile also increases.
Yet
such a man, though afflicted in many ways, is not without hope of consolation,
because he knows that great reward is coming to him for bearing his cross. And
when he carries it willingly, every pang of tribulation is changed into hope of
solace from God. Besides, the more the flesh is distressed by affliction, so
much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. Not infrequently a man
is so strengthened by his love of trials and hardship in his desire to conform
to the cross of Christ, that he does not wish to be without sorrow or pain,
since he believes he will be the more acceptable to God if he is able to endure
more and more grievous things for His sake.
It
is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which can and does bring it
about that through fervour of spirit frail flesh learns to love
To
carry the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it to
subjection, to flee honours, to endure contempt gladly, to despise self and wish
to be despised, to suffer any adversity and loss, to desire no prosperous days
on earth -- this is not man's way. If you rely upon yourself, you can do none of
these things, but if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from
heaven and the world and the flesh will be made subject to your word. You will
not even fear your enemy, the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with
the cross of Christ.
Set
yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear bravely the
cross of your Lord, Who out of love was crucified for you. Be ready to suffer
many adversities and many kinds of trouble in this miserable life, for
troublesome and miserable life will always be, no matter where you are; and so
you will find it wherever you may hide. Thus it must be; and there is no way to
evade the trials and sorrows of life but to bear them.
Drink
the chalice of the Lord with affection it you wish to be His friend and to have
part with Him. Leave consolation to God; let Him do as most pleases Him. On your
part, be ready to bear sufferings and consider them the greatest consolation,
for even though you alone were to undergo them all, the sufferings of this life
are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.
When
you shall have come to the point where suffering is sweet and acceptable for the
sake of Christ, then consider yourself fortunate, for you have found paradise on
earth. But as long as suffering irks you and you seek to escape, so long will
you be unfortunate, and the tribulation you seek to evade will follow you
everywhere. If you put your mind to the things you ought to consider, that is,
to suffering and death, you would soon be in a better state and would find
peace.
Although
you were taken to the third heaven with Paul, you were not thereby insured
against suffering. Jesus said: "I will show him how great things he must
suffer for My name's sake." To suffer, then, remains your lot, if you mean
to love Jesus and serve Him forever.
If
you were but worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus, what great glory
would be in store for you, what great joy to all the saints of God, what great
edification to those about you! For all men praise patience though there are few
who wish to practice it.
With
good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ since
many suffer much more for the world.
Realize
that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he
begins to live unto God.
No
man is fit to enjoy heaven unless he has resigned himself to suffer hardship for
Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on this
earth than to suffer willingly for Christ. If you had to make a choice, you
ought to wish rather to suffer for Christ than to enjoy many consolations, for
thus you would be more like Christ and more like all the saints. Our merit and
progress consist not in many pleasures and comforts but rather in enduring great
afflictions and sufferings.
If,
indeed, there were anything better or more useful for man's salvation than
suffering, Christ would have shown it by word and example. But He clearly
exhorts the disciples who follow Him and all who wish to follow Him to carry the
cross, saying: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
When,
therefore, we have read and searched all that has been written, let this be the
final conclusion -- that through much suffering we must enter into the kingdom
of God.
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