Station 12: Jesus Dies on the Cross

Yet, Christ turned death from an ending of a novel into an ending of a chapter, or a prologue even! Death is something we all must face, but we only need to face it once. Adam and Eve really messed up when they had a really good thing going on. It was because of their sin, that we have inherited that same fate of needing to suffer death in the world. However, only God can turn things around and make good out of anything. God the Father sent His only Son to save us from Death. He did this by conquering death, Himself. Out of His infinite mercy and boundless love, He experienced death in order to make it only a passageway; a doorway into eternal life. That doorway is made of wood too, and it is the cross. Christ died on the cross to shed His blood on the wooden doorway that once only opened to death, but now opens to the possibility of eternal life with Him. It is up to us how we prepare ourselves for the cross and to where our death will lead us next.

How did I come to these thoughts? With much reflection over each Lent I have gone through in life, as well as all the pains, sufferings, and tribulations I have endured through so far. I have noticed that when it hurts the most, when we suffer the most, and when we feel we have hit rock bottom, that is the moment of death that we always experience. From there on, we get back up and are able to move forward, seeing that the “death” we experience only really lasted mere moments in the grand scheme of things.

I have noticed that with every relationship broken, every bad news received, and every disappointment and upset that happens after a build up of hope, we experience a form of death. Death hurts, and it is unavoidable. That hurt does not last forever. That’s the point too. That hurt, pain, and intense desolation does not, will not, and can never last forever. Christ made it so with His death on the cross. That was the ultimate death, the one that abolished sin, and allowed mercy to rain – and reign.  This is where hope comes in, and it is what we need as Catholics to bring to the world through Christ. He is our only Hope.

Death, particularly Christ’s death on the cross deserves the reverence and respect for what it is: the perfect sacrifice to pay for a debt none of can ever repay. Christ’s death is our new beginning.

Frank Vuong

ExCo