December 12, 2020

Question: What’s the difference between the mythological figure Atlas, who spent eternity bearing the literal weight of the world on his shoulders, and Jesus, on whose shoulders the heavy wood of the Cross rested?  Answer:  only one of them was going somewhere!  The Cross is indeed a weight but it is not a punishment – as the famous god had to endure.  Rather, the Cross is heavy so as to keep us focused, grounded and on track on the way to transformation.  And while we can sometimes find ourselves in an Atlas-situation during our journeys through life, we must not give into the temptation to simply “shrug” and go on our merry way (as a popular twentieth century author suggests).  No, we must learn to ask for the desire to move forward, the grace to walk in true freedom, and the humility to let go of attachments that simply add to our load without giving us life.  And so, the next time we catch ourselves complaining about how we have the weight of the world on our shoulders, we should look to Jesus whose “yoke was easy and burden light” (Mt 11:30)  and be reminded that we have only truly taken up the Cross when our feet are taking us somewhere in life (cf. Mt 16:24).  Ave Crux, Spes Unica!