The CROSS is much associated with Good Friday.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, we are blessed with
the presence of a cross in our night sky. A cross that is
a navigational tool, a widely used symbol, a light in the
darkness.

In our great southern land, we have a saint who, on
taking her first vows and establishing the Sisters of Saint
Joseph, added “of the Cross” to her name, thus Mary
MacKillop became Sister Mary of the Cross. It was an
intentional decision; she was prepared to carry whatever
cross came her way and her life was lived in a nest of
crosses.1

At the heart of Christianity and the Josephite tradition,
are these words from the prophet Micah:2
This is what God needs from you:
simply do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.

“The just person justices” wrote Gerard Manly Hopkins.3
In other words, we are what we do. We are called to DO
justice.

Walking humbly with God and with others as equals
demands knowing our true selves – not hiding our light
under a bush and not being as the Pharisee who thanked
God that he was not like the others – greedy and
crooked – and spruiked his good works.4

Love in this context is not a feeling – it is a choice. It is
the action we take, the expression of doing justice and
walking humbly.

In every Gospel story, Jesus gives us the example to
follow. Following Jesus is discipleship. It commands
commitment and daily responding to the words of Jesus:
If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me.5
As we reflect on this day, we know that the willingness
on the part of Jesus to do justice, to love with
compassion and tenderness and to walk humbly among
the people – all people – was a thorn in the side of the
Roman leaders.

The words, actions and life of Jesus challenged their
authority – the Roman rule – and as a result, he was
crucified. Death by crucifixion was designed to be brutal
and very public, reserved for frequently rebellious slaves
and those who challenged Roman rule.

We are not going to be crucified, but not one of us is
exempt from suffering – from experiencing the cross in
our lives. The cross presents in all manner of ways – ill
health, death of loved ones, accidents, financial worries,
job insecurity, fears about those we love, uncertainty
about the future, loneliness, misunderstanding and
betrayal by others, the pain of watching the victims of
war and natural disasters, the heartache we experience
when injustice and cruelty abound. The list can be
endless, and our crosses, at times, overwhelming.

But the cross is not the end of the story.
With hope-filled hearts, we know that the cross has the
potential for transformation. It offers an invitation to trust,
to show empathy, courage, compassion, patience and
persistence to stay the course, to do justice, love with
tenderness and walk humbly with our God.
Transformed into the person we were created to be,
recipients of the promise of life to the full,6
may we courageously walk the way of the cross, choose life, and
shine in the world like bright stars – offering it the word
of life.7

Mary Hilton – Sisters of Saint Joseph
Formation for Mission Animator