The day seemed very dry. There seemed to be no feeling in me at the Stations of the Cross, nor when I read Julian of Norwich’s description of the Passion. This troubled me; it seemed so cold and ungrateful to have no feeling. My Father seemed to say to me once, “Wait,” and from this I understood that I wasn’t ready for instruction in the agony of the Passion. All I could do was accept my Father’s will, and that made me feel better.

How good my Father is to me! We arrived very early for the evening service. I tried to pray, but couldn’t. The church was noisy with the preparations. So, instead of getting restless, I got up and helped as I could, offering my service as a sort of prayer. Everything done, I settled back down. It was then that my Father gave me the most magnificent series of images possible! He showed me the glory of the Cross, as He saw it!

He showed me His Beloved Son, not hung on a tree of shame, but one of victory. From the pierced hands and feet, the open side, and the crowned head came no blood only the radiance of His divinity, which is love. Never was there more love in the world than at that moment.

Such love! Such love! Such pride, if I may say the Father was proud! There came to my mind a sort of parable. A medieval king sent his son into a terrible battle. The son suffered greatly, but the battle was won, once and for all. Such a victory it was for both that the suffering was as nothing to them. The Father saw the tomb emptied again before the tomb was filled.

By the Father’s will, Satan was allowed to turn the full fury of hell against the Son. And my Father showed me the Son’s ultimate victory! I saw Jesus descend into Hell to free those held captive. With a single glance He told Satan that he was noting! Never again could he harm anyone who did not choose to be harmed. Never again would a citizen of the Kingdom come under his power! This is what Redemption is! Freedom!

The earthquake at Jerusalem echoed Satan’s scream of defeat. His agony was far worse than any he had inflicted on Jesus. Henceforth, the only power Satan would have would be that which we give him through sin.

I wanted to get up and shout and dance for joy. I couldn’t very well do that, so I went outside to the quiet little path between the school and the church and walked back and forth sharing love with my Father. Later, during the service, while everyone else was solemn and mournful, I was inwardly rejoicing because I knew that the tomb was already empty.

Later, my Father taught me more about offering our sufferings with the Cross. Satan may flail us with every sort of misfortune and pain, tempting us to anger or despair. By uniting ourselves to the Cross, we claim the victory of the Cross, and Satan is defeated anew. The trouble becomes as nothing, and we make up for the temporary increase in power we give to Satan through our sins. This is reparation.

We are only human. We all will, at times, sin; but our Father will always, if we allow Him, win the victory over Satan in our lives.