There I lay on the side of the trail, horrified at the ways my body might revolt against me for hiking too high and too fast. Altitude sickness is no joke, and that day it hit me hard for the first time. The thought of the consequences left me mortified.
Uncompahgre Peak rises to an impressive 14,318 feet above sea level. It is the sixth-tallest peak in Colorado and had been on my bucket list for some time. The drive up to camp the previous day had left me car sick, and my early morning rise left little time to properly prepare for the eight-mile hike. Add 5,500 feet of elevation gain, and you have the makings of one arduous day.
As people passed me by, offering encouraging words to continue the ascent, they did not realize I was in dire straits, strategizing my exit route. Lying there long enough allowed my body to return to homeostasis, and I resolved to continue hiking.
I was nauseous and heavy. I questioned myself at every step. Is this worth it? I asked Jesus to help me carry this cross as I made my way toward the summit. His response bewildered me. It was calm, yet firm: “No.”
I did not expect Jesus to say “no.” Yet he showed me something unexpected. In my imagination, I saw him carrying his own cross, and turning to me, he said, “I won’t help you carry your cross, but I will walk beside you as I carry Mine.” In that moment, my mind’s eye zoomed out as if it were a drone. I saw Jesus and me, each carrying our crosses up the ridge, towing a line of souls toward the peak’s summit.
This was when I finally understood why God invites us to carry our crosses.
Jesus taught me that our daily crosses, whatever they may be, can be woven into his plan of redemption. Though sin and suffering were never part of God’s original design, the crosses we bear can be united to Jesus’ redemptive suffering on the cross. I realized then that he wasn’t going to take away my cross of altitude sickness. Instead, He asked me to bear it courageously alongside him, as a work of mercy for souls.
From Cross to Intercession
When Jesus carried his cross to Calvary, he bore the sins of the world so that all might be saved (1 Pt 2:24–25). The crosses we encounter in our own lives can become intercessory prayer "that all might be saved," if we unite them to his. Crosses are opportunities for salvation.
Mother Mary’s actions at the wedding feast in Cana provide a perfect example of transforming a cross into intercessory prayer. The newlyweds were celebrating one of the happiest days of their lives, a new beginning. Yet in the midst of their joy, their poverty became apparent—they ran out of wine. Their struggle, visible to all, exposed their vulnerability. As in any relationship or front-facing ministry or career, we cannot ignore, or hide, the crosses that reveal our brokenness or failure. In her motherly wisdom, Mary perceived the suffering the couple would face and interceded with her Son on their behalf. She placed their need in his hands, and the Savior turned their poverty into abundance.
A Powerful Tool of Salvation
In both the wedding feast and in my encounter on the trail, God reveals that our crosses are not meaningless burdens but powerful instruments of salvation. When we grieve over the state of the world, worry for loved ones who have walked away from faith, or ache for the sufferings of others, we must remember that God gives us the power of our daily crosses to participate in his redemptive work in the world today. As Saint Paul writes:
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24).
Saint Paul reminds us that our crosses are opportunities to participate in Jesus’ saving mission and the Holy Spirit’s work of salvation. This is our Christian mission—and a cause for great rejoicing!
Our crosses need not be extreme. We will find them woven into the ordinary trials of daily life: a temporary bout of altitude sickness, a family member’s hurtful actions, a co-worker’s annoying habit, or even our own weaknesses.
Who do you know who is carrying a heavy burden? What global injustice tears at your heart? Sometimes it feels as though we are powerless before the evils that exist in our world. Yet we possess tremendous power within us—the grace of the sacraments, through which God dwells within us, and our crosses by which he brings about his purpose of salvation (Jer 29:11).
When my two boys have synchronized their screaming and my nerves are on edge, I try to pray for all the children whose cries are never heard, and also for those who hurt them. The next time you face difficulty or bear a burden, you can also be an intercessor on behalf of someone in need:
Acknowledge your suffering.
Imagine our Lord walking beside you, carrying his cross while you carry yours.
Thank him for the power of the cross by which you ascend the summit to heaven, with many souls in tow.
Melissa M. Lucca is currently a Director of Religious Education, wife, and mother of two spunky boys. She holds an M.A. in Theology of the New Evangelization from the Augustine Institute. She loves a good adventure, but enjoys being outside laughing with her boys most.
Image by Ales Krivec from Pixabay
