Today began with quite the cross - waking up after only 5 hours of sleep to attend 7am Mass. I didn't want to, was so close to giving up, but knew that I had promised Matt. It took all my strength of will to get myself out of bed, but looking back on it, I wish I had treated it not as just a personal struggle but rather as a sharing in Christ's cross. All for You, my Jesus!
The readings today were so applicable. (Sometimes I think Jesus does that just to make me smile.) The tower of Babel, the confusion in our world. The temptations that trap us in despair. Then Jesus tells us that, to be His disciple, man must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. God doesn't ask us to dedicate five minutes of our day, or even just to attend daily Mass. No, Christ is radical because He exhorts us to abandon everything and seek only Him. We must be willing to lose our very lives on this earth in order to gain what He has promised.
From the walk home:
I tend to see the many little crosses in my life, but nothing too overwhelming and long-lasting. Maybe this is because God has blessed me with an easy life? I love the image of us sharing in the cross and taking some of the weight off Christ's shoulders so He has less of a burden to bear. This makes my suffering much more meaningful. God does not give us unbearable burdens, and He will always provide us with the grace that we need to pick up and carry our crosses.
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