"You rejected the holy and righteous one and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead."
- Acts 3:14-25
Today we hear another cry unlike the joyous shouts of Palm Sunday. It is the fierce cry of those who shout out: "Crucify him!" How hard it is for the comfortable and the self-righteous to understand the joy and the celebration of God's mercy. How hard is it for those who trust only themselves and look down on others, to share in this joy. It is the cry born of the show of self-sufficiency, pride, and arrogance, which sees no problem in shouting "Crucify him, crucify him." Faced with such people, the best remedy is to look at Christ's cross and let ourselves be challenged by his final cry. He died crying out his love for each of us: young and old, saints and sinners, the people of his times and of our own. We have been saved by his cross, and no one can repress the joy of the Gospel. No one is far from the Father's merciful gaze. Looking at the cross means allowing our priorities, choices, and actions to be challenged. It means questioning ourselves about our sensitivity to those experiencing difficulty.
What most challenges me when I consider Jesus' death in the cross?
*From Ashes to Easter: Our Lenten Journey with Pope Francis
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