At a recent lecture given by Bishop Robert Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, he said: “…we are still participating in the agony and the crucifixion” of Christ on the Cross. We do this every day by our sins; by choosing to do what is wrong. For Christ, during His Agony in the Garden, suffered for every transgression by Man: past, present, and future. On a related subject: the Bishop also remarked that as Catholics we have always maintained the tradition of displaying a Cross that includes the Corpus (Body) of Christ; as opposed to a plain Cross with no Corpus or the more modern interpretation of the Cross with the Risen Christ. This spoke so eloquently to my heart, because, even as a child, I had a particular fascination with images of Saints who embraced the Crucifix. In my boyhood parish church, there was large polychrome statue of St. Therese, though, at the time, I had no idea who it was, holding a large bouquet of roses and the Crucifix. It was beautiful and mesmerizing: a strange, but enthralling amalgamation of ecstasy and suffering. I was drawn to it, but didn’t understand. Much later, when the Lord saved me from a life of self-destruction, I avoided any forms of suffering. Pridefully, I thought to myself, in my former life, I had suffered enough. Yet, I had one health scare after another, surgery followed surgery, and a further sinking into depression and doubt. Slowly, I began to find solace in the Cross; for the Lord had also suffered; but, to an unimaginable depth. Suddenly, embracing the Cross felt somehow comforting and oddly satisfying – as if Jesus always knew what were my deepest longings, hidden woundedness, and secret fears. He invited me to intimately join Him at Calvary; for, at the Cross – were only the most cherished and steadfast of Christ’s inner-circle: His Mother, St. John, and St. Mary Magdalene. Because, you only die with the ones you truly Love the most. And Christ is asking us to be there when He dies; so that His blood may wash away our every sorrow. Then, to rise again with Him – and to join Him in Glory.