If you have reached the Third Week of the Spiritual Exercises, you have made the decision to go with Jesus to the cross. There are two primary aspects to this Week: compassion for Jesus’s suffering (and that of others) and coming to terms with one’s own suffering and death. First, we walk the road from Bethany to Jerusalem where we witness the Last Supper, the betrayal of our dear friend, and like Mary Magdalene and John risk going all the way to sit where Jesus hangs in agony. As we watch Jesus suffer and die, we grow in our capacity to empathize with another person’s suffering. We also become painfully aware of how sin contributed to this tragedy and marvel that Jesus voluntarily endured it for a greater good.
Second, we pick up our own cross. As disciples, we follow our Lord’s example, giving our lives for the sake of others. This is not easy. Like Jesus we pray, “Take this cup from me.” But, as we are inspired by Christ’s decision, we gain courage to say, “Yet not my will, but Your will be done.” Significantly, God’s will is never suffering just for the sake of suffering. Jesus didn’t volunteer to die because of a “martyr’s complex.” In fact, God anointed Jesus for the specific purpose of eliminating suffering (Acts 10:38). Taking up our cross is for the sake of helping others.
The disposition of this Week is sorrow—the kind of sadness that comes when we care about and empathize with the pain of another. Ignatius suggests we engage in acts of lament, including fasting or abstaining from delicacies or other pleasures. At the same time, this Week is also intended to cultivate resilience, that is, to strengthen our decision to follow Christ as we imitate him, setting our faces “like flint” toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).
WEEK 25: The Walk to Jerusalem