Gaze at a crucifix. Take it in fully. Look into the eyes of the figure on the cross and be transfixed into the moment this image represents. Do not gaze upon it with the eyes of your body, rather gaze upon it with the eyes of faith. Let your heart be absorbed into the moment. Reflect carefully upon the bloody sacrifice that is represented by this piece of sculpture. Allow the world to fade into the background and become one with the wounded man on the cross. Be aware and alert to your feelings during this time. At one point on this journey, I am sure that you will suddenly feel a part of the Christ who hangs, arms suspended and legs fastened with brutal nails to the wood. In this moment, you and Jesus have become one in a unique and mysterious way that will lead to communion with the Father.
Your heart will leap for joy in this moment because you have united in an intimate way with the Creator. In addition to joy, I am also sure that you will begin to feel a particularly strong sense of security, one that delivers a warm sensation throughout your body and soul. Realize in this moment as well, that the sense of security you now experience is far beyond any sense of well-being that you have ever known.
This is how our flesh is made one with the Father. It is through Jesus Christ that we come to the Father and are unified with him. It is at this time when you come to the realization that the Father is at work in you and there is nothing nor anyone who could persuade you otherwise because you have come to the Truth. Pilate's question, "What is truth?" (Jn 18: 38) is now answered. Truth is unity in the Father through the Son bound together with the love of the Holy Spirit.
When we reach this level of truth, we may become amazed how often in the past we may have sought assurance about the existence of God. We may wonder why we even had doubts in the first place. God has been at work in you all of your life. He continues still, despite your sinfulness, because he loves and cherishes you and will never give up on you. He wants nothing more than to be one with you so that we can be at one with one another, thus spreading the peace of the Kingdom of God here on earth.
When we reach communion with God, there is no fear that cannot be overcome. Unity with God, with the sufferings of his beloved Son, ensures us that our joy will be complete in every aspect of our lives whether we are in moments of supreme happiness or the tragedy of suffering that afflicts us so often in life. When we have truth, namely our unification with God, we have everything. We can want for nothing more. We can feel free to approach the throne of God in the form of the crucifix and unite ourselves with a Savior who has loved us beyond our comprehension just so we may shed the chains of sin and death and have eternal life.
Gaze into a crucifix soon, at be at one with God and at peace with the universe!
