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PART II
10. THE CROSS AND THE
CATERPILLAR
“The life of the servants and friends of God is to die
daily; ‘we die daily; you are dead, and your life is hidden in Christ in God.’
This is that mystical death that I desire in you, and as, by the celebration of
the divine and sacred mysteries, I have entire confidence that you will be born
again in Jesus Christ to a new and divine life. I desire also that you should
die mystically in Christ daily, more and more." (
As we contemplate the death
of Christ on the Cross, we see the final stage of His life's journey on earth.
It actually indicates a process of growth, which reaches its plenitude beyond
death, the Resurrection into Eternity.
As we journey through life,
we leave behind previous stages, as each time we journey onto the next stage,
until we reach the last one, which arrives at death. This passage from one
stage to another, is at the heart of the Pascal Mystery, i.e. die to self, in order to move forward and
rise into a more mature being. This happens individually as well as
collectivity. Ultimately the whole of creation groans and moves forward, as a
woman in travail, until the end of time, when history itself will move forward
to its plenitude.
"We know that all creation is
groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the Spirit, also groan within ourselves as we wait
for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved."
(Romans 8:22-24)
It is the process of Creation
itself. As we are baptized, we are invited into the movement of constantly
dying and rising, so that we may reach our full potential through the working
of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit then who constantly shapes the creation
of self and of collective history, until our full potential is reached.
Sometimes it may seem impossible that this will happen, and in fact we may feel
things are getting worse. We must remember, however, that while the Evil One
seems to be winning battles, the war is won by the Lord, because where sin
abounded, grace over-abounded.
The law entered in so that transgression
might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more (Romans
5:20)
We also know that God often
"writes straight with crooked lines". An example of this, is that
The witnesses laid down their cloaks at
the feet of a young man named Saul. As
they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then
he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold
this sin against them"; and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his
execution. On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in
The life of a
caterpillar/butterfly illustrates in a special way this movement of death and
resurrection throughout its life. Let's take the example of an owl butterfly.
The small eggs are laid on the bottom of a banana leaf.
Check YouTube: "Owl Butterflies Laying Eggs"
A caterpillar must make the
effort to emerge from the egg.
Check YouTube: "Owl Butterfly eggs hatching
time lapse"
As it grows, it sheds its
skin a number of times, gradually changing in color with thorn-like features,
appearing gradually, with each change on its back.
Check YouTube: "Owl Butterfly Caterpillar"
It finally hangs upside down,
as it shrinks in size, wrinkles and fades in color, shedding its last skin in
order to become a chrysalis. At each stage it blends in with its environment:
the green caterpillar with the banana leaf, the older caterpillar and the
chrysalis with the bark of the banana plant or the branch of a tree. Finally a
butterfly emerges from the chrysalis disguised as the head of an owl.
Check YouTube: "Creature Clip - Owl Butterfly
Metamorphosis in time lapse: from Caterpillar to Butterfly"
As human beings, we also go
through different stages, changing in size and shape as we mature, finally
shrinking and wrinkling up, before we finally pass away, seemingly dead like a
chrysalis. Even more impressive, is if we compare our death, with that of a
hawk moth chrysalis as it takes place in a mud cocoon, after the caterpillar
goes underground, like us, when we are buried after death, with that of a hawk moth
chrysalis (click to see), as it takes place in a mud cocoon, after the
caterpillar goes underground, like us, when we are buried after death. The shedding of the skins symbolizes that
dying process of each stage as we mature. Throughout the process of growing, we
also need to adjust to the culture, our age, and the environment in which we
live as Jesus did. The camouflage of insects as we have seen gives us a
symbolic example of this adjustment. As John in His gospel has Jesus saying:
I do not ask that you take them out of
the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the
world any more than I belong to the world. (John 17:15-16)
The question though, is
whether we mature also inwardly as a person. We might instead resist the
strenuous process of maturation, remaining closed in on ourselves like an egg
or seed, that refuses to come out of self. We can in this sense, remain a baby
forever, expecting all our needs to be met from others, without ever going out
in search of them ourselves. Egocentrism is normal for a baby: when it cries,
food comes to it, or other needs are met. For an adult, egocentrism becomes
egoism, expression of a stunted life. If we were to compare the egg with the
caterpillar, and then the butterfly, they are totally different and yet they
are the same creature. In the same way, when we were in the womb of our mother,
we had no idea of what things would be like once born, even though we could
sense something beyond, through noises we possibly hear. And each stage appears
as an unexpected, changing surprise. In the same way, while having a sense of
our ultimate destiny in heaven, we have no idea what our resurrected spiritual
body will be like. In words of
It is sown a natural body; it is raised
a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. (1
Corinthians 15:44)
11. THE CROSS AND JOSEPH
OF EGYPT
