Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven…” (John 3:13); in other words if we desire to go to Heaven, we must be guided by someone who knows the way. Jesus not only knows, but He is the Way (John 14:6). Following Him, however, means we will inevitably approach the Cross, and if we turn from it or try to avoid it, we will not make it. We must follow Him all the way, not only walking in His footsteps but walking them as He walked them. This means not merely encountering the Cross but also embracing it and dying upon it, such that we are transformed by the Cross and may experience Resurrection on the other side of it.
Rejecting the Cross is rejecting the Resurrection; avoiding the shame is avoiding the glory. Jesus shows us, however, that whatever we suffer in being faithful to God, the suffering not only is temporary, but serves as the seeds of victory. We must trust Him, trust that following Him in His suffering also means following Him in glory and, ultimately, to Heaven.