There are very few days on the liturgical calendar as hauntingly beautiful as today. The Church is stripped bare. There is no ornamentation around the altar. The music for today is subdued and glum. There is a silence settling over not just this place, but over the whole world. It’s meant to remind us of when Jesus took his final breath.

This afternoon, we’re not here to simply remember a moment of history, even though it is one of the most important events in our lives as Christians. Instead, this is supposed to be a moment for us to enter into the gravity of the situation. We are invited today to stand beneath the Cross. Like our Blessed Mother. Like the Beloved Apostle, John. Like the faithful few who refused to run away.

And when we stand with them and look upon our Savior whom they have crucified, we discover something: the Cross speaks. Not with noise, but with definitive truth.

It says to us:

“This is how far love will go.”

“This is how much you matter.”

“This is what sin costs – and what grace gives.”

Jesus doesn’t just die for us – He dies instead of us. He enters our pain, our betrayal, our rejection. He even enters our silence when God feels far away, those moments in our own lives when we have said to the Father: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

But Jesus turns that cry into victory, He turns it into a moment of triumph. How is that so? Because the Cross isn’t the end of the story. It’s the doorway. We know how it ends.

So, here’s the hard truth about today:

You and I have put Jesus on that Cross; we are the ones who have driven the nails into His hands and feet. Our pride, our selfishness, our sins. The times that we knowingly have turned away from following God’s plan for our lives, the times we have failed to live according to His teachings.

But here’s still an even deeper truth: Jesus chose to be there. He looked at your life, and mine, and said: “You matter. I will go. I will take it. I will not stop loving you.”

In a few moments, we will have the opportunity to come forward to venerate the Cross. When we do that, don’t just come up to admire it. Recognize the weight of this symbol, recognize the cost. Kneel before it, bow to it, or simply touch it. But in doing that, honor the sacrifice that Jesus made for you and for me.

And the beautiful thing about today is that Jesus is still inviting us to share with Him the struggles that we face, the hardships we are enduring. He knows we all have crosses of our own. And He still wants to take those things upon Himself. So, as you come forward, call to mind what those crosses might be and give them to the Lord.

Bring Him your sins.
Bring Him your wounds.

Bring Him your shame.
Bring Him the name of the person you can’t forgive…or the part of yourself you wish didn’t exist.
Bring Him your failures – especially the ones no one else knows about.
Bring Him your addictions, your habits, the chains you can’t seem to break.
Bring Him your anger, especially if you’re angry at Him.
Bring Him your fear of being unworthy.
Bring Him the prayers you stopped praying because you didn’t get the answer you wanted.
Bring Him the broken relationship you’re too tired to fix.
Bring Him the lie you’ve believed about yourself for too long.
Bring Him the mask you wear so people think you’re okay.
Bring Him your exhaustion.
Bring Him your doubt.
Bring Him your desire to be healed… even if you’re not sure how.

Lay these things down at the foot of the Cross – and don’t take them back with you.

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant it. In that statement, He declared that sin is finished. Death is finished. Hopelessness is finished. And through it, He ushers in a time of mercy and grace. And that is what we are called to remember today.

After our liturgy this afternoon, stay here in the silence, in the stillness. Sit before the Cross, stay here beneath it. Tell Him, “Jesus, here’s what I’m still carrying… I give it to You.”

Let the Cross speak today. Let’s open our hearts to what Jesus might be saying to us from the Cross. May those words inspire us to come back to the one who never left us. May they bring us to a moment of conversion and lead us to finally give our entire lives to the One who gave everything for us.

Photo: King of the World by Gianna B. Used under Unsplash license.