3.10.11 - Thur after Ash - Voluntary Penance

It is most appropriate to hear Jesus’ call to take up our cross today.  Our Lenten season, if anything, is an exaggerated time of doing so.  Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily – every day of the year.  But we find ourselves refusing the many crosses that come our way.  These forty days we can look for crosses – we voluntarily take on suffering and hardship – perhaps to make up for the crosses we have refused.  We also, in forty days, can develop the virtue of penance – that is, a disposition which helps us to accept our crosses in the future.

But most importantly – it places us in the company of Jesus.  Unlike many of our ordinary hardships, Jesus could have avoided his cross.  If he willed, he could have brought about our salvation in a most comfortable way.  But no, he voluntarily took on the most severe suffering – knowing that it was the Father’s will – and would be most beneficial for his beloved human race.

As we take on our voluntary penances – we grow closer to Jesus because we learn the power of his love.  Every penance we do – no matter how small is of great value to us.  It does not deny life – rather it gives us life.  It is the same life that we see in Jesus, Mary, and all the saints.