UNDERSTANDING THE CROSS

The cross did not give glory to Jesus. It was Jesus who made it glorious
by making a place of infamy into a place of love.

Enzo Bianchi

To those who want to follow him, Jesus suggests carrying the cross. But what does Jesus mean by this expression? Let’s look at the cross, an ancient pre-Christian symbol, made up of a vertical and a horizontal pole. These two poles or branches symbolize the two dimensions of love: the vertical one, planted in the ground and projected upwards, expresses love for God, the horizontal one, which ideally gathers the world in an embrace, instead expresses love towards our neighbour. Carrying the cross therefore means, living one’s life loving God and loving others. But that is not all. Love towards God is characterized by obedience, as filial love, while love towards others is characterized by solidarity, as brotherly love. Therefore, the cross is not to be understood as a baggage of suffering to be carried and endured, but as the icon of a life of dedication. Following Jesus is nothing other than entering into this logic, making it your own. Hence the need to deny oneself, a phrase that must be understood well. The Greek verb is aparnèomai which also means “to deny”, “to reject oneself”, “to say no” by refusing any involvement. In the Greek Bible it is used to express the clear and categorical rejection of idols, and this so as to belong only to the Lord (cf. Is 31.7 LXX). In our song, the idol from which to free oneself is one’s own self. In short, true idolatry is the exaltation of oneself as the ultimate value, and therefore as the criterion for every choice. For the disciple of the Gospel the centre of life is Jesus. It is from him that one determines oneself in the world. It may seem simple, but in reality it is not. The passage of the individual self to the “you” of Christ involves labour and conversion. A public and solemn profession of faith is not enough (Peter). It is necessary to think in terms of free and gratuitous self-giving, following the example of Christ.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey