22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
THE CROSS WE MUST CARRY
MT 16: 21-27
MESSAGE
Every person has a difficulty to confront each day. Some have heavier burdens to deal with on a regular basis. Others have terrible pain or suffering to endure. One person may have a family problem while another battles with sickness. Out there, someone bemoans a financial woe while another complains of friction at work. From a toothache to a heartache… no one is immune from this mysterious part of life.
But not every suffering is a cross. The cross is a suffering embraced with Jesus. The cross is a sickness offered to God. The cross is a problem lifted to the Holy Spirit.
Our daily burdens become a cross, a sacrifice, when carried not only with but like Jesus. Jesus did not run from the cross but carried his cross with acceptance, patience, and trust. He was convinced that his experience would lead him closer to the heart of the Father.
What difficulties do you experience today? Do not carry it alone. Do not endure it in solitude. Rather, take up your cross by inviting the Lord Jesus to walk with you, to carry it with you. Entrust your heavy load to him because he cares. Though it is not easy to understand, follow the Lord along the path of mysterious suffering that brings purification, enlightenment, and salvation. There are needless sufferings we must eliminate at all costs. But there are personal crosses that we must carry for the good of our souls.
REFLECT
Bring your suffering to Jesus today. Ask him for the grace to embrace it as your cross, to carry it like him, to offer it to him, to trust that he will carry it with you.
