Kneel at the Cross

Last year, as I exited the church on Holy Thursday, I had a thought about the symbolism of the mass. With all of the feasts we Catholics and Christian's have to celebrate our religious holidays, why don't we have one to commemorate Christs last supper? So I decided that the next year, I would.

I invited a few friends over for supper. Somehow I felt that God approved as He supplied us with a beautiful evening which allowed us to eat in the garden, another symbolic gesture. I told everyone I would grill and do all the cooking. We broke bread and drank wine with our dinner in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. We chatted and laughed over our meal as the sun set. My guests parted and I cleaned up. I had intended to walk up to church for a moment of prayer and adoration. Since the church was open until midnight, I felt I could rest a little before heading up. Alas, "the spirit was willing but the flesh was week". I nodded off and didn't wake up until 12:30. For my last supper meal I was rewarded with the experience of the apostles.

Writers, actors, and artists use life's experiences as inspiration. They seek out the emotions of the moment to put themselves into the hearts and minds of those they seek to lift onto the page, the stage or the canvas. As Christians, we should be seeking to lift Christ into our hearts and minds. We can do this by experiencing the emotion of His life and those around Him. Search for times in our own lives when we gathered for the last time with someone we loved. Been witness to a persecution of someone dear to us. Were betrayed by someone we trusted. Or denied knowing a friend for fear of being associated with them.

Tonight I felt the shame of Peter, John and Paul. Now I am ready to journey through the Stations of the Cross and then partake in the requiem mass of Good Friday. When you have Christ in your heart, this is a very emotional service. I can't imagine recreating the death and funeral of a loved one without feeling like a wound was reopened. But that's what Good Friday is about. Feeling the pain of Christ and his first followers. Not so much the physical, but the emotional. The silence as we leave the venerated crucifix in the barren church is intended to escort us to our homes, where the emptiness is a reminder of a life without the presence of Christ.

In contemplation of the journey through the pre-Easter services, it's a good time to ask ourselves; If we were an original follower of Jesus, would we have run to our home out of fear, or would we have been brave enough to kneel at the foot of his cross to be with Christ as he suffered? Seek out the emotion of the apostles and you will find your answer.

May you walk the journey to Calvary, find peace in prayer at his tomb and rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter.