Take Up Your Cross
In the Gospel of the Mass today Jesus said:
Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.
If you experience a cross and have done all you can to change it, then God is allowing it for two reasons:
1. To empty you to fill you with His divine life.
2. To invite you to be a partner in His saving work.
On this first point St John of the Cross writes
We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.
For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God…Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.
Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be steadfast and rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth – to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.
The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.
Don’t despair, for God empties us of lesser things to flood us with the Greatest – Himself.
Jesus is inviting us to be a partner in His saving work.
St. Paul writes: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and my flesh I complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, that is, the Church” (Colossians 1:24).
How could Christ’s sufferings be lacking? And if they were lacking, how could we make up for it?
Think of it this way: Christ preached the Gospel, but if we don’t participate in preaching the Gospel, Christ’s preaching won’t have its full effect. Christ loved and served the poor, but if we don’t participate in His love and service for the poor, His love for the poor won’t have its full effect. And Christ suffered for souls, but if we don’t participate in His suffering for souls, than His suffering won’t have its full effect. That’s what it means to “make up what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings for the good of the Church”: it means Christ makes the full impact of Calvary dependent on our willingness to cooperate with Him.
Pope Pius XII puts it starkly: “The salvation of many depends on the prayers and sacrifices which the members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ offer for this intention.”[1] “Let everyone remember that their sufferings are not in vain, but that they will turn to their own immense gain and that of the Church, if to this end they bear them with patience.[2]
What kinds of things can we offer up for other people?
In the 2nd apparition of the Angel to the three children of Fatima in the Summer of 1916, the Angel stated that the children had a mission from Jesus and Mary to help them save souls by prayer and sacrifice. Lucy asked the Angel: “How are we to make sacrifices?”
"Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners.”
Make of everything a sacrifice, a gift to be offered to God. Not just your crosses but your prayer, work and your joy. Offer of it to God at the beginning of each day by doing the Morning offering and renewing this throughout the day. Jesus, I do this or accept this for the love of you and for the good of souls.
Whatever you face
St. Paul says: Rejoice always, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16
Thank God right now for the cross in your life because it is the most effective means to empty you and fill you with God and to help Him save souls.
However, do not fix your gaze on the cross. Fix your gaze on the good – being filled by God and saving souls.
And accept and carry the cross of today. Do not fix your gaze on the cross of the future, it is too heavy to bear now. You can bear the cross of this moment, how do I know, because you just did…there you did it again. Live in the present moment. Furthermore, the future never turns out as you imagine it now so why live in an imaginary world that will never exist. The devil uses your fear of the weight of the future to crush you today. Resist him, live in the present moment – rejoicing – thanking God for the cross of today.
Trust in the providence of God
No matter what we face now or will face in the future, we can trust in the Providence of God. Providence comes from Pro-videre (to see things on our behalf
From all eternity God saw what you are going through; You couldn’t see what was coming, but he did.
Even though you can’t fully understand it what you are going through, God is with you and He understands it
No matter what you are going through, God WILL work this in your favor if you trust Him