|
LIFE BEGINS AT THE CROSS
ONE of Pope John Paul's favorite quotes is
"Each man, in his
suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of
Christ."
You might consider yourself far more fortunate than you
imagined. And God sees your cross, whatever the size, and He
knows
your pain. You may stumble, but Christ, our Savior, will be there always to help you carry
your load. Consider that your "heavy" cross gave you new understanding
of God's
mercy and love. Each day that you carry it you become
stronger and closer to Jesus.
As
Pope John Paul says:
"And Christ, through
His own salvific suffering, is very much present in every human
suffering, and can act from within that suffering by the powers of
His Spirit of truth, His consoling spirit."
"In
all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may
WE all have burdens to carry in this unpredictable world. Our lives are filled with many things: disappointments, loss of friends or relatives, physical problems, money troubles, and family worries to name just a few. Some of us simply want to give up, because we are too tired of the struggle. But we, as Catholic Christians, have learned that there is someone Who does care and says, "Just lean On Me and let Me help you carry that cross."
"Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will
sustain you; HERE is a story, written by an unknown hand, about a young man who felt he was at the end of his rope with misery. He felt his "cross" was just too heavy to bear. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he complained. "My cross is just too heavy to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open that other door and pick out any cross you wish." The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and did as he was told. Upon opening the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against the far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in." "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." - James 1:2-4 THOUGH we do not realize it, Jesus still walks with us and helps us through all things. If we listen and pray, He will speak to us through the Holy Spirit, comfort us through the bad times, rejoicing with us through the good. Through our tears of sorrow, He will send us a vision of hope, and we will know He is right there for us. He never promised that this earthly life would be a continuous joy. But, as Christians, we are never alone for our Savior is always there with us. He quiets our spirit and keep us going. And if we take the opportunity to talk to others, we will learn we all have burdens to bear for they, too, carry crosses filled with troubles and problems. Sometimes our shoulders become heavy with the worries of this world but we have a God Who will, in His own time, come through for us. He will never let us down.
SOME of us are inclined to handle our problems our own way, forgetting that Jesus is right there with us, feeling our pain, our losses, our hurts, our fears and all the things that earthly life gives us. Yes, there are the struggles through the hurts in life that are thrown on our shoulders. And so many times we forget to look up to Jesus, our Savior, Who promised us that He will never leave us stranded.
"Blessed
be the Lord who daily carries us. REMEMBER our Savior Who promises to send the Holy Spirit to guide us back on the path of hope that Jesus holds in His hand for all of us as Christians. The Holy Spirit within us promises and whispers God's love and hope to us. We are never alone, never stranded for Jesus never fails us. But our dependency is only valid if we hand our burdens over to Christ Who will help carry whatever burdens earthly life gives us, promising us His gift of eternal life where there will be no more pain or sorrow. If we listen, through prayer, He will give us a hope that transcends all earthly burdens.
"For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy YES, there are many kinds of burdens we face: burdens of sin, temptation, guilt, conflicting loyalties and sorrows, for this life is filled with stress, cares, worries, trials. But know this is when we need Jesus at our side, to carry us through all the pain this earth gives us.
"Therefore,
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
"JESUS said to His disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?' - Matthew 16:24-26
Heavenly Father, only You can make me strong in the face of these earthly trials and tribulations that prey upon my faith. Remove from me Satan, the father of lies, who tries to take away our trust in You. Help me to stand strong under this burden of suffering. Let me remember during these tribulations that weigh heavily, that YOU are right there with me and will never leave me stranded. You sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the way to You through faith. He died on a cross for all our unrighteous sins; He paid the ransom, the price of eternal life for even unworthy me. And though I stumble sometimes, I know, through prayer, it is Your love that can lighten the weight of all earthly crosses, yes, even for me. I give this earthly life to you. I want to be a model of Your love so others can come to You with hope, wanting one day, to live forever with You. Renew me Lord, renew my courage and keep me strong, letting me hold onto Your loving and powerful hand. I give you my soul, my all and all, for this earth is not my home but if I hold tight to You, one day You have promised to take me home where I will live forever with You, and my Savior, Jesus Christ. There is NO other name that can bring me to You and so, I ask this through the mighty Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. - AMEN!!
Please use the link at the top left
side of this page
|
| r |
