Vol. I September 1998

Introduction Letter

Dear Friends,

It is possible that this letter has come as a surprise to you, or maybe you have been waiting on it for some time. Whether we received your name directly from yourself, or from someone who is genuinely interested in your future and your happiness, we hope you enjoy receiving and reading this letter.

The aim of our letter is to help young people understand the most basic truths of the Catholic Religion. We will ask and answer such questions as: What is the Mass? Why go to Confession? What is Confirmation? Themes such as Devotion to Our Lady, The Infallibility of the Pope, What it means to be a Priest, will also be examined. Spiritual truths, such as The Importance of Prayer, Adoration of the Eucharist, and The Assistance we receive from our Guardian Angels, will form the topics of future letters. We will also look to some of the more practical truths of our Religion, reflecting on our obligation to participate in the Mass every Sunday, our obligation to frequent the Sacrament of Confession, and finally let us not fail to mention the obligation each and every Christian has to strive to be a saint. The words of our Saviour, "You therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"¹, and the words of our Holy Father, "Today we have a tremendous need of saints, for whom we must assiduously implore God"², must ring in the ears and find echo in the hearts of our youth. The youth are the future of the Church.

A second surprising element of this letter might be the title we have chosen to give it. We are presuming that you are a Friend of the Cross, that somehow you love that Cross of Jesus Christ. We dedicate our very first letter to this topic as Jesus Himself said that to be a true disciple of His we must deny ourselves, take up our Cross daily and follow in His footsteps. All true Friends of Christ are therefore Friends of His Cross. Let us now try to understand this unique friendship.

We will start by asking ourselves: why did Christ suffer on the Cross? Is it possible that He was crucified against His own will, or did He die freely? The answer we receive from His own words: "the Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many"³. Jesus wanted to die, He allowed himself to be crucified. On another occasion He stated, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again". Immediately He went on to insist: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord, I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father"⁴. It is clear that Jesus wanted to die, and for this reason He died. He also wanted to rise from the dead, and for this reason He rose, never to die again.

But we now want to ask ourselves: "why did Jesus want to die, what was the finality of His death?". To answer this question we must understand that our first parents Adam and Eve had an extraordinary privilege they were Friends of God, they enjoyed a far greater intimacy with God than we do even with the closest of our companions. They entered into conversation and dialogue with God as with a lover.

Sadly this friendship was lost. It was lost through Original Sin. Adam and Eve refused to obey God, and thereby destroyed their friendship with Him. They destroyed divine charity which had united them to God in grace. No longer the friends of God, they were cast out of Paradise. From that moment on our first parents and all their descendants would have to deal with God more as Lord than as Lover. This however did not correspond to God's plan. He wanted Friendship with His people.

To save His people from the state of sin, from the state of being at enmity with Him, He sent His only Son. His Son became man, He became one of us, and on our behalf was to pay an enormous price to God. Yes, Christ willingly paid the price of His own life, He shed His blood on the Cross, and in virtue of this extraordinary act of love we have been restored to Friendship with God. Jesus paid the price, but the prize is ours. Jesus suffered death on the Cross, and won for us intimacy with the Father, with Himself, the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. Each and every one of us can now claim that our three best Friends are these three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. We can and should develope our Friendship with them. This we do by spending time in prayer. We should of course try to participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass frequently, but we also need time for private prayer. Only in this way will we grow in intimacy with GOD.

Now we are beginning to see why we should befriend the Cross. Through it we were saved, through it we enjoy the privilege of familiarity with God, through it we will reach everlasting happiness. We should not only love the Cross of Christ, but we ought also to love the Cross that He prepares for us. To be his true followers we must take up our Cross daily. By being ready to suffer we accept our share in His Cross. By being ready to suffer we become like Christ. This in itself is a great privilege, but to it is added another privilege, the privilege of helping in the salvation of others.

By shouldering our Cross willingly we win for others the graces they need in order to once again become Friends of God. Friendship with God is lost through mortal sin, it is regained through the Sacrament of Confession. By carrying our Cross we gain for others the grace to make a good Confession, or maybe we simply win for another the grace of growing in friendship with Christ. Yes, through the power of the Cross we begin to realize who Jesus Christ really is:

¹Mt 5,48

²Vita Consecrata 35.

³Mt 20,28

⁴Jn 10,17-18

⁵Liturgy of Hours of September 14th: Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.