Walking Humbly Along the Way

DeSales WeeklySpiritual ReflectionsSacrificeStruggleSaints

Apr 15

…This Holy Week

As we progress through the days of Holy Week, starting with the Hosannas of Palm Sunday through the jeers of Good Friday and the ultimate silence of Holy Saturday, we are reminded of the highs and lows of the Paschal Mystery. This week, we walk in symbolic, spiritual, and real ways through the Passion of the Lord.

As we follow the Way of the Cross, we recognize that the disciples and followers of Jesus did not always understand what was taking place before their eyes. They did not always accept the struggles that were unfolding. Too often, they forgot the lessons the Lord had passed on when they were with Him along the way. As the week unfolded, they were confused and out of sorts. Only after the Resurrection, when the Lord began to appear to His followers and friends, did they begin to truly understand the significance of what had happened.

This reminds me that Jesus did not pick those who had it “all figured out.” He did not pick the smartest or highest-achieving individuals. Instead, the Lord called ordinary, everyday people to follow Him. He called those who did not always make the grade, those who were broken, those who were marginalized, those who were hurting and lost. This followed a pattern that was seen again and again in salvation history. God chooses those who are overlooked, those considered foolish in the eyes of the world. In the Hebrew Scriptures, we are told: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).”

Many of us can see ourselves in this description. We, too, are striving to be like Jesus and to serve others as “wounded healers.” Holy Week reminds us that we are still trying to absorb the events of two thousand years ago and to see how God can transform every part of our lives, even the sorrows, pains, and losses of this life. The theologian Peter Kreeft once wrote that Jesus chose a small and humble animal to carry Him into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Kreeft wrote that “the donkey is the most stupid and exasperating of animals.” He further reflects that two thousand years later, the Lord “has not changed his strategy. He still chooses the same animals today to do his work in this world.” He chooses those who can be stubborn and stupid. Kreeft says they sit in the pews and behind bishops’ desks. They are the Church.

May the journey of Jesus, from Jerusalem to Calvary to the empty tomb, continue to transform our struggles and our weaknesses. My prayer is that we, like the first disciples, can experience the Paschal Mystery in a real way this week. Striving to be Christ on earth today, may we use our small gifts, our limited talents, and our human weakness to transform the world.