Would Jesus Have Suffered Less for Me?

It’s never easy to reflect upon the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. I must admit that I’m often not as fervent as I should have been while praying it. I know in my heart that I should have sorrowed more for Christ’s passion. But many times, I feel so weak that I cannot bear to share more of Christ’s pain.

I still pray though. And I’m still reminded about His terrible sufferings. But there is one frame of mind that I need to correct while I’m meditating upon His cross.

You see, I can’t help but ask why Jesus must suffer so much. Why the excruciating tortures? Why this horrible death? Even while praying in the garden of Gethsemane, it was as though He sweated drops of blood falling on the ground.

“My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” - Matthew 26:38 (NABRE)

He saw what kind of tortures He’d be going through. And even the thought of it created such a great sorrow akin to death!

It’s usually along these lines of thought that I begin to have one mistaken thought. In my mind, I begin to conclude that Jesus must have suffered so much because of the great sins of humankind.

Humankind. Every person’s sin taken together. That must be the reason suffered so painfully on the cross!

But wait. I’ve realized that even that thought was wrong. Why?

Because somehow, I came to believe that He would have suffered the same torments even if it meant just saving me!

I don’t have to cast the blame on the rest of humanity. I can’t say that my sins are few and had I needed to be saved, Jesus would have suffered less.

Jesus suffered everything, not because He carried our total guilt.

He suffered all things, because of His love for a single soul that needs to be saved.

“Jesus would have died for one person, for one sinner.” - Mother Teresa

And so I remember my reflection about the way Jesus looks at us. When Jesus looks at us, it’s not as though He were looking at a mere “crowd” of people. He looks at me and you individually. He loves each one of us personally and uniquely.

Isn’t He the Good Shepherd who would look for His one lost sheep? Even if I were the only one who was lost, I must believe that He would come looking for me!

“We may spend time in chapel—but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Not only that He loves you, but even more—He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy.” - Mother Teresa

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” - St. Augustine

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