“Take up your cross.” Christians use this phrase often when faced with difficulty. Yet, it’s more than a soothing phrase. St. Pope JohnPaul II says “to carry your cross is the greatest proof of love.” Do you want to learn the purpose of your crosses, the forms they can take, and how to take them up as disciples of Jesus? Listen to this episode with Richaél Lucero. 

SHOW NOTES

Episodes referenced

Are You an Intentional Disciple?

Scriptures referenced

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:24-25

Quotes referenced

When the cross is embraced it becomes a sign of love and of total self-giving. To carry it behind Christ means to be united with him in offering the greatest proof of love.

St. Pope JohnPaul II

We cannot speak about the cross without considering God’s love for us…

St. Pope JohnPaul II

Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’

Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer

The first two gestures form the letter “I” and the next two cross it out. That’s what the cross of Jesus meant and means. The path of discipleship is the path of self-sacrificing love…

Ronald Knox