Lent 2 - The Road to Glory Leads Through the Cross

 

Homily for Lent 2

March 1, 2026

The Road to Glory Leads Through the Cross

 

            The world loves a good Cinderella story – rags-to-riches, where a person in abject poverty and suffering ends up with a glorious ending. We have one like that in our Catholic Faith – St. Germaine Cousins.

             She was born with a deformed hand and a skin disease. Her mother died in childbirth and because of her deformities and disease, her stepmother forced her to live out back in the barn. She never received a bit of kindness from her stepmother or her other siblings, and was forced to endure the cold winters and hot summers and loneliness, with only bread and water as her sustenance. Yet she never complained, and would speak kindly to her cruel stepmother (sounds like a Catholic Cinderella, right?). She attended daily Mass and prayed the Rosary frequently, and would often give her meager bread to beggars. Because of her intense love for the Lord, miracles started happening around her – at times the swollen river would part so she could attend Mass, and when she would be off at Mass, she would plant her shepherd’s crook in the ground and no sheep ever wandered away. People began to notice her holiness and came to her for advice, even though she was only in her late teens! Finally, her stepmother relented and allowed her back in the house, but she refused, wanting to offer her sufferings as penance for sinners. She died at the age of 22.

            Okay, so where’s the “riches” part of this rags-to-riches story? Well, as a saint in Heaven, she is receiving far more glory and joy than can ever be imagined: the vision of God for eternity, no suffering, the company of the saints, life without end – does this not more than make up for what she endured on this earth?

            One of the most profound truths in the spiritual life is that the road to Heaven leads through the Cross. Always, always, always. St. John of the Cross writes, “[We must] come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the riches and the wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering. The gate that gives entry to these riches is the Cross. Many seek the joys that can be gained through it, but few desire to pass through it.”

            This is a beautiful image. Imagine that one were to be standing outside of the finest mansion, filled with joy and celebration and riches and love, but the doorkeeper said, “You can come in and take possession for the rest of your life, but first you must endure one hour of suffering.” Hopefully we would say a wholehearted yes to this exchange! And yet, with an eternity with God behind the door of death, so often we are unwilling to make any sacrifices whatsoever to obtain Him!

            But why does the road to Heaven pass through the Cross? For two reasons. First, because in this fallen world, love is suffering. In fact, St. Padre Pio said, “The proof of love is to suffer for the one you love.” If Jesus were merely to prick His finger and shed a drop of His Precious Blood, that would have been enough to redeem the world – but would it be enough to show us the unfathomable depths of God’s love for us? No, for this, He needed the Cross – to show us a God Who would rather die than spend eternity without us. To willingly suffer in union with Christ is the most profound act of love we can give Him; and to willingly suffer for others puts our love into action. Without suffering, love becomes a mere sentimental notion – suffering makes love real.

            Secondly, though, suffering purifies us and strips us of all the idols we make. Have you ever had to rip off a bandage or a piece of tape that had stuck to our flesh? How painful that is! Likewise, we become attached to all sorts of things – some of which are bad things (greed, lust, pride, sin) but some of which are good in themselves but are not our greatest good (attachments to honors, pleasures, possessions, even family and friends). We become so attached that God has to “rip them off” so that He becomes our only love.

            Our Buddhist brothers and sisters believe that desire is the cause of all unhappiness – therefore, they try to eliminate all of their desires, so they might find inner peace. But Christians believe that desires are good when they are ordered properly – we can desire a good steak, but not on a Friday in Lent. We can love our family and friends, but we must love God more. But due to our fallen world and the sin we all struggle with, we tend to have disordered desires – to desire things that are not our greatest good. It is suffering, then, to re-order our desires, when we don’t get what we want (health, money, success, etc) so that we may desire God alone.

            Suffering is unpleasant – that’s why, when Peter gets a glimpse of the glory of Jesus, he wants to build tents. He wants to dwell on this mountain, safe from the cares of this world, with Jesus the King. He will find it much harder to stay on Mount Calvary, with Jesus the Crucified One. And see the parallels here: today Jesus appears with radiant garments, but in forty days He will be stripped of His garments. Today He is flanked by the two great heroes of Judaism: Moses and Elijah, but on Good Friday He will be flanked by two common criminals. There is a brilliant light coming from the cloud declaring Jesus to be the Son of the Father, but on Calvary, the sun will be darkened and even Jesus will cry out, “My God, my God, why have You abandoned Me?” The Transfiguration was a glimpse of the glory, but the glory that can only be obtained by passing through the Cross.

            So do not be afraid of suffering when it comes. It is inevitable in life. But use it well – make it an act of love by uniting it to Christ’s Cross, and let it strip you of your attachments so that you can cling to God alone. And in this way the Cross will be the path leading to the Resurrected glory.