Hispanic Ministry - Living Lent in an Integral Way

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”— Matthew 16:24

Can I close my eyes and imagine Jesus saying these words, drawing on his face the expression of the father who warns his child to be careful for something he knows is going to happen, or the mother who looks her daughter in the eyes and tells her to observe well because it is essential that it happens. Well, the look of Jesus at that time when he spoke to the disciples, he saw you and me in our many trials, which Jesus called “Our Daily Cross,” which no human being on this earth is exempt from and which receives a different name for each one: disease, economic or marriage crisis, work or family difficulties, unwanted pregnancies, abandonment, betrayals, social injustices, natural disasters, concerns, fears, anxieties, stress, unemployment, fear of the future, crisis of faith, etc.

I do not know the name of your cross, but what I’m sure of is that Jesus first carried your cross and that in this Lent he wants us to get in front of that difficulty that we wish to deny and embrace it in a different way. I propose to you four ways to do it.

1. Carry your cross looking at it from a spiritual perspective:God, our God, died on a cross to give us “life in abundance” (Jn 10:10), but he did not stay in death... He rose and is alive, and the cross took him to life, that is, every experience of pain we are going through will be a cross and a death path that will take us to life.
2. Carry your cross looking at it from a biological perspective: God has given us a body that is his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16), and although the crosses we are experiencing now are making us feel tired, give yourself an opportunity to put yourself at peace with your body that you have abused. For example, how many times have we eaten food that is bad for us? How much time do we spend late at night on electronics? When was the last time you smiled? What if during this Lent you give yourself the opportunity to thank God for your health or you smile; to walk a little more and in silence realizing what God tells your body and the desire that he has for you to be well.
3. Carry your cross looking at it from a psychic perspective: I invite you to make this a time of more reflection and learning. God has given us the ability to think, to be intelligent so “we have the mind of Christ” (I Co 2:16). Let his Holy Spirit clean our saturated minds of so many events that have made us experience stress, anxiety, and fatigue; rest in God and listen to his word that tells you “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,* and I will give you rest. (Mat 11:28).
4. Carry your cross looking at it from an emotional perspective: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28). Feel in that cross you are experiencing the deep love of God who never abandons you in difficult times. He walks with us telling us his love is real, and surely when looking at him you are going to receive strength so that you do not drag your cross, but instead carry it with the proper Christian dignity.