The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is followed immediately by the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.  We remember how the Blessed Virgin Mary shared intimately in the sufferings of her Son throughout His life but especially when she stood under the cross on which He died.

We are called to follow Mary’s example and to unite our sufferings to the cross of Jesus on which the victory over sin and death was won.  We do that at Mass and in our daily lives.

At every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we stand under the Cross as Jesus makes present to us in a miraculous way the greatest act of love the world has ever known.  He invites us to join our crosses, our sufferings, to His cross for the ongoing work of salvation.  Though His offering of Himself on the cross was the perfect sacrifice which took away the sins of the world, not everyone knows about what He did nor has everyone accepted the salvation Christ won for them.  We now play a part in the ongoing work of salvation, just as Mary did.

In the working document for the 2005 Synod of Bishops which focused on the Holy Eucharist, we find the following words: “The daily offering (taught, for example, in the Apostleship of Prayer, practiced by millions of Catholics worldwide) can help each one to become a ‘Eucharistic figure,’ following the example of Mary, uniting one’s own life to that of Christ, who offers Himself for humanity.”  What is this “daily offering” and the “Apostleship of Prayer?” You can find examples of a daily offering prayer and learn more about the Apostleship of Prayer which is now known as the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network at www.popesprayerusa.net.

St. Paul wrote the following about the power of uniting prayer and suffering: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church…” (Colossians 1: 24).

That doesn’t mean we have to look for suffering, but when it comes our way, we can follow Mother Mary’s example by prayerfully offering up our sufferings for the salvation of souls. Imagine how thankful those souls will be when you meet them in heaven!