"Behold, I stand at the door and knock"

        I have often found that conversations later at night lay bare the reality of a subject in a way that no other time of day can. I think perhaps at the end of the day the reality that there are limits to what can be thought or produced in a certain amount of time leave us in a state of stark realism, a leaning into the reality of our finiteness. It just so happens that last night’s conversation was about this finiteness in our Christian reality, in the grand scheme of things the reality of the Cross. What we discovered in this bare conversation about the finite, the Cross, is how seemingly simple it can be to connect the idea of the cross to the experience of our lives, how in ways as simple as giving up something for lent or as complex and difficult as losing a loved one, the cross always has a way of making itself present (even if we don’t fully understand it); life provides plenty of opportunities to lean into this finite reality. 

But the Cross seen in the light of the paschal mystery breaks out of its seeming finiteness into the glory of the Resurrection, the Kingdom, and the promise of everlasting life! When this topic is laid bare before us in the arena of night time conversation, though, what seems to be left is still mystery. Where do we see this reality in daily life?

         We see it only when we are invited to live through the living gifts given to us by Christ: His Church, the Sacraments, and most especially the great Sacrament of unity with the Paschal mystery, the Eucharist.  Our daily participation in the Resurrection, rather than the clarity of the presence of the cross comes in the humble semblance of bread and wine, and Christ’s quiet knocking at the door of our hearts. It is an invitation in the silence, a quiet peace always calling us back to living in a new way the life in which we daily encounter the Cross. May we find in our daily lives this peace and blessing of Christ’s saving presence!