The Power of the Cross
Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life
Michael Dubruiel



For the word of the cross is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved
it is the power of God.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18



Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted
up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him
— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and
his form beyond that of the sons of men —so shall he startle many
nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that
which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they
have not heard they shall understand. Who has believed what we
have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out
of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look
at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised
and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and
we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not
his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and
as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the
land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And
they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his
death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit
in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he
has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail
of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous
one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he
shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion
with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with
the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors.

ISAIAH 52:13–53:12


Contents

The Cross of Christ Teaches Us. . . (Week One) 17

Day 1. Our Mission 19
Day 2. To Live the Gospel 24
Day 3. How to Pray 28
Day 4. About Repentance 33
Day 5. How to Trust and Give Thanks 37
Day 6. Reconciliation 41
Day 7. How to Love 46


The Cross of Christ Unites. . . (Week Two) 51

Day 8. The Temporal and Eternal 53
Day 9. Those Divided by Sin 58
Day 10. In Humility 63
Day 11. In Liberty 69
Day 12. Those Who Suffer for Justice 74
Day 13. Us in the Work We Have to Do 78
Day 14. God’s Mercy and Love 83


The Cross of Christ Transforms. . . (Week Three) 89

Day 15. How We Worship 91
Day 16. How We See Jesus 96
Day 17. How We Forgive 101
Day 18. Law and Love 106
Day 19. Our Lives 111
Day 20. Our Priorities 116
Day 21. How We See Ourselves 120


The Cross of Christ Illumines. . . (Week Four) 125

Day 22. Blindness 127
Day 23. Lag Time 132
Day 24. Weakness 137
Day 25. Death 142
Day 26. Our Choices 147
Day 27. The Truth 152
Day 28. The Way to True Unity 156


The Cross of Christ Restores. . . (Week Five) 161

Day 29. Life 163
Day 30. Forgiveness 168
Day 31. The Image of God 172
Day 32. Our Freedom 176
Day 33. Obedience 181
Day 34. The Dignity of Work 186
Day 35. Justice 191


Taking Up Our Cross. . . (Week Six) 197

Day 36. In Abandonment 199
Day 37. In Reverence 204
Day 38. To Follow the Lord 208
Day 39. Be Prepared 212
Day 40. In Imitation of Christ 217
Day 41. To Stay with Jesus 222
Day 42. Be Not Afraid 227



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"The Cross of Christ is the supreme sign of God's love for every man and woman, the superabundant response to every person's need for love."
~ Pope Benedict XVI




ROME, Italy (Catholic Online) - After the Way of the Cross, Pope Benedict XVI gave this wonderful reflection and encouragement to the faithful gathered in Rome's collisseum at the conclusion of the Way of the Cross:

*****

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once more in meditation, prayer and song, we have recalled Jesus's journey along the way of the cross: a journey seemingly hopeless, yet one that changed human life and history, and opened the way to "new heavens and a new earth" (cf. Rev 21:1). Especially today, Good Friday, the Church commemorates with deep spiritual union the death of the Son of God on the cross; in his cross she sees the tree of life, which blossoms in new hope.

The experience of suffering and of the cross touches all mankind; it touches the family too. How often does the journey become wearisome and difficult! Misunderstandings, conflicts, worry for the future of our children, sickness and problems of every kind. These days too, the situation of many families is made worse by the threat of unemployment and other negative effects of the economic crisis.

The Way of the Cross which we have spiritually retraced this evening invites all of us, and families in particular, to contemplate Christ crucified in order to have the force to overcome difficulties. The cross of Christ is the supreme sign of God's love for every man and woman, the superabundant response to every person's need for love. At times of trouble, when our families have to face pain and adversity, let us look to Christ's cross.

There we can find the courage and strength to press on; there we can repeat with firm hope the words of Saint Paul: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom 8:35,37).

In times of trial and tribulation, we are not alone; the family is not alone. Jesus is present with his love, he sustains them by his grace and grants the strength needed to carry on, to make sacrifices and to evercome every obstacle. And it is to this love of Christ that we must turn when human turmoil and difficulties threaten the unity of our lives and our families.

The mystery of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection inspires us to go on in hope: times of trouble and testing, when endured with Christ, with faith in him, already contain the light of the resurrection, the new life of a world reborn, the passover of all those who believe in his word.

In that crucified Man who is the Son of God, even death itself takes on new meaning and purpose: it is redeemed and overcome, it becomes a passage to new life. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12:24).

Let us entrust ourselves to the Mother of Christ. May Mary, who accompanied her Son along his way of sorrows, who stood beneath the cross at the hour of his death, and who inspired the Church at its birth to live in God's presence, lead our hearts and the hearts of every family through the vast mysterium passionis towards the mysterium paschale, towards that light which breaks forth from Christ's resurrection and reveals the definitive victory of love, joy and life over evil, suffering and death. Amen.




God bless you