Today, the Lord teaches us what our attitude before the Cross must be. The ardent love of Jesus for His Father's Will, to carry out the salvation of Mankind, of each man, of each woman, urges Him to quickly move towards Jerusalem, “the Son of Man will be handed over… they will condemn him to death… scourge him, and put him to death” (Mk 10:33-34). Though, at times, we may not understand it or may be afraid of pain and suffering or of every day's contradictions, let us try to lovingly join God's salvific will with the offering of our daily Cross.

Assiduous prayer and the Sacraments, especially the personal Confession of our sins and the Eucharist, will increase our love for God and our love for others, in such a way that we shall be able to affirm that “We can” (Mk 10:39), in spite of our misery, fears and sins. Yes, we shall be able to take up our daily cross and follow Him (cf. Lk 9:23) for love, with a smile; that cross that is evidenced by our ordinary everyday life: tiredness in our job, family difficulties, social relations, etc.

Only if we embrace our cross every day, denying ourselves to serve others, shall we be able to identify ourselves with the Christ, who came “to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45). Saint John Paul II explained in this way: “Jesus' service attains its fullest expression in his death on the cross, that is, in his total gift of self in humility and love.” Let us, therefore, imitate Jesus Christ, by constantly transforming our love for Him in servicing actions for other people: wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, without distinction. Servicing actions to get them closer to God and free them from sin.