Our Lady of the Rosary: Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion–
(The fifth in a series of meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary by Rev. Addisalem T. Mekonnen, Spiritual Director of the Philadelphia Senatus)
The first tree which bore the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden and it was the only test that revealed whether Adam and Eve had unconditional love for God or not. It was God who called them to have this intimate relationship with Him and He revealed His infinite love for them in a tangible manner. This love God had for them was made visible by the fact that they received the gift of each other and were called to rule over the world as a king and queen. They were called by God in their relationship with Him to reciprocate the unconditional love they themselves received, by keeping the one commandment which was a type of cross in the form of fasting from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve became like the devil bearing the sinful fruit of disobedience and became a foe of the Cross of Christ. Since Adam and Eve rejected this small cross, they began to experience something foreign to them which was a fear of suffering and death.
The new Adam—Christ Jesus, our Lord entered the garden of Gethsemane and He also experienced a fear of suffering and death as He prayed to His Heavenly Father “if it possible, remove this cup from Me—nevertheless not my will be done.” Our Lord from the very beginning of His Incarnation rejected the temptations to not pick up His Cross and so He embraced it whole heartily with the climax being His crucifixion. Therefore, our Blessed Lord revealed His invisible unconditional love for His Heavenly Father and for all sinners through His crucifixion. This crucifixion became the test and standard that revealed those who are either friends or foes of the Cross of Christ. Our Lord’s crucifixion bears the good fruit of eternal life for His Beautiful Bride the Church.
The foes of the Cross of Christ is sin, the spirit of the world and the devil. The worldly minded are naturally foes of the Cross of Christ, but unfortunately, unconsciously, it is also the case among some of the laity and the clergy alike which is the real reason for the crisis in the Church. The friends of the Cross of Christ is the Queen of Martyrs, apostles and all the saints. It is through the graces we receive through the sacraments and prayers from the Church that we gradually become friends of the Cross of Christ. Nevertheless, those graces we receive are directed towards our bearing witness to Christ’s unconditional love for His Heavenly Father and all sinners who are formally or informally foes of the Cross of Christ. It precisely in this public witness to Christ that we will experience His crucifixion and finally reveal ourselves as obedient to the will of our Heavenly Father and to be a friend of the Cross of Christ. This crucifixion we experience will cause both our family and friends to make a choice to be a friend or foe of the Cross of Christ. In the end if we are faithful to the Cross of Christ, which is the perfect way to love both God and neighbor simultaneously, then it will lift us up high to the heavens like a kite that is supported by the wind. The cross beams of the kite represent the Cross of Christ and the string that is connected to this kite is the Holy Rosary. The wind that lifts up the kite is the out pouring of the Holy Spirit and so by praying the Rosary, let us turn to our Lady to help us slowly but surely become in reality a friend of the Cross of Christ.