By Fr. John Bartunek, LC, Spiritual Direction - The cross is suffering made fruitful through faith and love. When God’s indicative or permissive will in our life contradicts our natural preference (our self-centered, human will), we experience the cross. His will is like the vertical beam, and our natural preference is like the horizontal beam. When they are opposed, we are faced with a grace-filled opportunity. By choosing to accept God’s will when we would prefer something else, we exercise our faith, hope, and love more intensely than in any other possible situation.