“My God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and nailing You to the cross by my sin . . . .”
I finished my Act of Contrition, and the priest responded with the Church’s beautiful words of absolution. As I got up to leave, he stopped me and said, “Sister, it is true that Jesus offered Himself on the cross for our sins. Remember, He chose to do it. He did it because He loves you.”
More often than not, when I look at the crucifix I see my sin, my failure, my rejection of His perfect love. I forget to see Christ’s love for me, for us. The love that led Him to immolation on the Cross. I let the Cross justify my self-condemnation instead of heal and free me from the bondage of sin.
The reminder from that priest, though, changed that.
Jesus willed, He chose, to suffer because He loves and desires to bring us to life. “Even when you were dead in transgressions . . . he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, he . . . removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-15).
The nails pierced His flesh not because I have sinned, but because He allowed the flesh to be pierced. He nailed my sin to the Cross, so that it no longer has the power to condemn.
Yes, the Cross exists because of sin, but the Cross has power because of the Divine Love of Jesus. Love that restores, heals, and transforms us into His new creation—beloved daughter.
I pray today that you have eyes to see the Cross not as a tool condemning you because of the ways you’ve turned away from God, but as a sign of the unique, infinite, eternal love that God has for you. May the power of the Precious Blood of Jesus flowing from His pierced side heal, restore, and refresh you today as you embrace with confidence the truth that “[t]he Lord is compassionate toward all his works” (Responsorial Psalm).
LOVING GOD, LOVING OTHERS
A NEW WORKSHOP
COME BACK TO FIRST LOVE
