“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” What significance does this powerful declaration of St. Paul have for us who are also Christians, disciples of Christ?
            In baptism, we entered into the risen life of Jesus Christ. The life of Christ is present within us through the power of God’s Spirit. The issue for each of us is whether we cultivate that life within us, that is, do we foster the growth of that life in us so that we experience a rich intimacy in Christ? The way in which we grow in our intimacy in Christ is to put to death, with his grace, all that is contrary to our relationship with Christ. We seek to conform our lives to his values and not to the values of this world. Each of us has to look at our individual lives and see the areas in which we need to die in order to grow in our intimacy with Christ, to grow in our fidelity to Christ and to his values. Is it a tendency to sexual sin, especially the use of pornography which is easily available today? Is it a measure of selfishness and a lack of concern for the needs of others? Is it a lack of attention to your prayer? Is it a preoccupation with our material comfort? To what do you need to die in order to grow in your intimacy in Christ?
            To grow in our intimacy in Christ, we must put to death within ourselves the values of this world and embrace the values of Jesus Christ. Do we honor and protect the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death? Do we offer a welcome to immigrants and refugees recognizing their contribution to our society and their need for economic opportunity and security for their families? Do we support those programs that help low-income workers with affordable housing, subsidies for child care, nutrition support programs, and health care? In this way, our lives reflect the values of Jesus Christ who honored the dignity of all persons and who embraced foreigners, the poor, and all those whom his society neglected.
            What must die within us if we are to live in Christ now and forever?
 
                        Fr.  Mark Hallinan, S.J.