Recently, and upon serious surgery, a friend of mine had to undergo physical therapy in a
rehabilitation center. And one day, he was walking down the corridor with two of
his children and his legs gave out. And he fell. Of course, you can imagine, the
children were very upset, and he simply looked back to them and said, "It's okay.
How many times did Jesus fall? Now help me up, and let's continue this walk. Dear
friends, as we strive daily to walk as faithful followers of Jesus, we must
acknowledge that there are times we stumble and we fall. We may fall when we
are so hurt by the mistreatment we have experienced, or when we are enticed by
the many temptations of the world, or maybe when we are overwhelmed by the
sufferings and the crosses that we are asked to endure, or maybe when we're
deeply saddened as we mourn the death of a loved one. And so today the Church asks
us to meditate upon the Passion just proclaimed for us, noting that there is
nothing we ever experience in this world that Jesus did not experience. He
took on all the world had to offer: mistreatment, temptation, sin and
suffering. And under the pressure, He fell three times, and yet in faithful
obedience to the Father, was able to get up and continued to walk on that path to
Jerusalem and to His ultimate death. But as we know
and will celebrate on Easter, He was not defeated. He proved victorious and gives
all of us, through his cross and resurrection, a share in His victory here
now, as He leads us on that path to glory. That's why we sing those beautiful words
from the Responsorial Psalm: Take courage and be stout-hearted all who hope in the
Lord. In just a few moments, dear friends, you will be invited to come forward and
to reverence the cross on which hung the salvation of the world. Remember the
words we heard today from the letter to Hebrews telling us that we can
confidently approach this throne of grace to receive mercy and timely help.
So as you come forward today, tell the Lord the specific grace, the help that
you need at this particular moment in your life as you entrust to Him your
cares and your concerns, your burdens and indeed your crosses. In uniting yourself
to the sufferings of Christ, and reverencing the cross, you reflect your
belief that when we stumble and fall, in Christ we will always find the help
and strength we need to get up, to walk with Him on that path that leads to
glory. So with renewed faith and confidence, we
say: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your Holy Cross you have
redeemed the world. Amen.