Jesus formally three times prophesied his passion and death. If we read the Gospels carefully, we see that he was forming his Apostles by leading them through three stages: from rejection, through silence to initial acceptance.

Apart from these three formal pronouncements, Jesus also spoke of his suffering and death in different images which his listeners probably did not quite understand. Thus he talks about a day coming when his disciples will have to fast. He does not explain further, but even if his listeners did not understand the whole meaning of what he meant, they must at least have grasped that he was speaking about a serious danger to himself and maybe others.

Jesus also spoke of his death in parables, and then the more educated Jews, the scribes and Pharisees, understood perfectly well what he meant even if they did not know the details.

So for us, too, who live in the time after the resurrection. Through prayer and perhaps suffering or tribulations, we grow in our understanding of the meaning of the Paschal Mystery. We may not understand every detail, but with God's grace we can come to understand and accept that the central meaning of the Cross is love.