“What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses and ruins his life? (Lk. 9:22-25)

To renounce oneself and to carry the cross are not expressions that please us.To take up the cross means to be willing to lay down one’s life as Jesus did. We should think more about spending our lives, not saving them.

Perhaps the question would be in every situation or place where I am: How much can I give? A question that changes the one that dominates our collective thinking: How much can I get?

What is the most I can do in my work, in my family, in my community? It would replace the other question: What is the least I can do?

We have been given life and the way to honor it is by giving it to others, in the small moments of each day. And this Lent is a propitious time to stop thinking about our whims and instead take care of the needs of those around us. To leave behind that old person who was tied to the structures of society and its norms, and to live fully by hanging on the cross our selfishness, to go forward in haste with Jesus to save our lives and the lives of others.  No one, not even Jesus, told us it was easy. But yes, it’s worth it.