The burden of the cross that Christ assumed is that of corrupted human nature, with all its consequences in sin and suffering to which fallen humanity is subject. The meaning of the way of the cross is to carry this burden out of the world. (St. Edith Stein, The Collected Words of Edith Stein: The Hidden Life, vol. four, III, p. 91)

One of my favorite Lenten devotional books is The Way of the Cross with the Carmelite Saints, which includes a number of quotes for each of the Stations of the Cross. This morning, I reflected upon the above quote by St. Edith Stein and was reminded of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured” (Isaiah 53:4). Here we touch upon one of the central mysteries of the Gospel - The Son of God became one of us and fully immersed himself into the suffering and brokenness of our humanity in order to bring healing to us.

Have you experienced physical suffering? So did Jesus. Have you experienced emotional pain? Jesus did too. Rejection? Fear? Abandonment? Sorrow? The death of a loved one? Jesus experienced the full depth of human suffering out of love for us and in solidarity with us. When we find ourselves experiencing any kind of pain, we can turn to Christ and know that he can relate to us.

How does Jesus suffering these things solve the problem of our own suffering? In addition to showing us that God is truly compassionate - “compassion” literally means “suffering with” another - Jesus' death itself prepares the way for a world without pain. The cross of Good Friday leads to the Resurrection of Easter Sunday, when Jesus was raised in a glorified human body that is incapable of suffering, a body that all who remain faithful to him will one day share. We believe that a day will come when all who have followed Jesus Christ in faith, hope, and charity will rise again to experience the joy of a new heaven and new earth without suffering or death, where every tear is permanently wiped away.

Strengthened by the promise of this future glory, our own experience of suffering can be radically transformed. Rather than giving into doubt, despair, or self-pity when we encounter physical or emotional pain, we can unite ourselves to Jesus Christ through acts of faith, hope, and charity. We can look past the present difficulties toward our future joy, recalling the words of St. Paul: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” (Romans 8:18)