Deacon James Keating reflects on the cross as the sign of radical self-giving love that both attracts and frightens the human heart. The cross reveals humanity’s fear of surrender, rooted in the risk of love and the pain that often accompanies it. Jesus freely enters this place of fear and suffering, not to remove the human condition, but to dwell fully within it. By undergoing betrayal, abandonment, emotional anguish, physical pain, and death itself, Christ makes clear that no form of suffering is foreign to God. His suffering flows directly from love, showing that divine compassion is not distant or theoretical, but personally present in the darkest experiences of human life.

Prayer and communion emerge as the way the cross reshapes identity. Prayer forms a person to remain connected—to God, to others, and to love itself—when evil or suffering threatens isolation. Rather than allowing pain to fracture relationships or identity, the cross becomes the place where love enters suffering and transforms it from within. Keating describes suffering as rooted in the brokenness of the human condition, yet continually met by healing, reconciliation, and hope through Christ’s presence. Trusting God amid darkness, especially by surrendering one’s spirit as Christ did, allows suffering to become a passage toward deeper intimacy and resurrection rather than a final defeat.

1. How does the cross reveal my own fear of surrendering fully in love, and where do I resist that surrender in my daily life?
2. In what ways have I experienced Christ being present with me in moments of suffering rather than removing the suffering itself?
3. How does prayer shape my identity as someone who remains in relationship with God and others when pain or evil threatens isolation?
4. Where am I tempted to keep my faith superficial instead of allowing God to enter the deeper, hidden parts of my heart?
5. How do I respond when suffering exposes my sense of loneliness, weakness, or unlovability?
6. In what concrete ways can I meet suffering with love rather than withdrawing, escalating anger, or despair?
7. How might trusting God in darkness open a path toward deeper intimacy and hope beyond my current circumstances?

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page