*Note: many citations, Bible verses, names are linked to other sites for further information/reference.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America, North America
"Man, I have a headache. Anybody have some Excedrin?"
"Oh my gosh, Starbucks was all out of Café Verona this morning. I had to settle for their house blend. What is so hard about keeping coffee stocked?"
"Why doesn't the city do something about these craterous potholes??"
(next week)
"What the heck! I work a long day and then get stuck in traffic on my way home because they feel the need to fix the potholes during the middle of the week?
"Ugh, it's so bloody hot outside. Crank the A/C." (in the summer)
"Ugh, so many leaves. They won't stop falling. Call the neighbor boy to rake." (in the fall)
"Ugh, it's so blasted freezing outside. Crank the heat." (in the winter)
"Ugh, it's so rainy and depressing outside. Give me chocolate." (in the spring)
"Son, I need you to go outside and get a load of wood."
"I can't. I'm in the middle of the last level of this video game but this STUPID MONSTER KEEPS KILLING ME SOME HOW!!! (proceeds to flip over the chair, scream, kick the cat and head straight to the refrigerator for a Mountain Dew and ice cream and does not go get wood)."
Cairo, Egypt, Africa
"Dear brethren, we are a great minority here in Egypt, we faithful Catholics. As you all well know, Fr. leCroix was shot and beheaded yesterday by Islamic insurgents just after baptizing young Alexander who is now safely at home and cleansed of original sin thanks to Father's heroic act. He had been warned numerous times to cease his missionary activities, but he would not yield or abandon his divine mission. In thanksgiving for God's mercy in sparing her child, Alexander's mother, a widow whose husband was also killed just weeks ago just prior to Alexander's birth, has now consecrated herself for the remainder of her life to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart."
Jingtai, China, Asia
"Father, there is a man at our door with three children. His wife has died from starvation, and his children are weak and failing. We only have a few cups of rice left."
"Open the door and let them in. We will eat less this week. I will not eat if necessary."
"What will we do if we run out of food? We shall starve."
"Our Lord Jesus Christ told us that we are not to worry, for God even looks after the ravens. If it be God's will that we should live, then He will provide. If we shall starve, we shall starve loving our neighbors."
"Deo Gratias."
These scenarios above are all of course hypothetical. I am not citing any specific text or quoting any particular people.
But I wanted to paint a picture of what life in the First World has truly become. We are, to borrow a phrase from my parents when I was growing up, SPOILED ROTTEN.
The Seven Deadly Sins abound. Each and every one of them is alive and well in our midst. And I am not just speaking of others, je m'accuse (I accuse myself) first and foremost.
I have written about these sins and have spoken of how some among these seven do not as profoundly impact my life.
I may have been overstating myself and not studying my own activities and not probing my own conscience deeply enough; I may have indeed been duplicitous, even if perhaps not intentionally.
I have been wallowing in my own sufferings far too much, feeling sorry for myself or relying too much upon my own faculties to try to get by.
Praise God for His Proverbs and Psalms to help lead us back into His loving embrace.
"The rich and poor have met one another: the Lord is the maker of them both." - Proverbs 22:2
"The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever." - Psalm 21:27
These two verses tie into the aforementioned "picture I was painting" of the mentality between those who believe they suffer and complain, whine, moan and groan versus those who truly suffer and praise God all the while.
This sermon from Fr. Michael Rodriguez is a timely one for me personally.
It seems in recent months that some combination of "vain complacency" and inner anxiety have crept into my life, and I can trace the root cause to a tendency to want to shuck and abandon my crosses instead of embracing and even loving them.
Our Lord gives us many directives in the four Gospels; he tells us many things. Many times, we would prefer to only focus on "those texts flavored with milk and honey" rather than to open our eyes and hearts to the entirety of Christ's directives toward eternal life.
Are any of us truly meditating upon that verse above and living it out entirely? Have anyone among us truly contemplated what it means to deny ourselves and take up our crosses?
Oh may Almighty God have mercy on me for my ungratefulness when given the chance to endure even a shadow of what our Lord bore for each and every one of us!
This instruction is repeated in three of the Gospels a total of four times, but those aren't the only places. We find it in the epistles as well.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us." - Romans 8:18
"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our comfort abound.
That our hope for you may be steadfast: knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation." - 2 Corinthians 1:5,7
"Grudge not, brethren, one against another, that you may not be judged. Behold the judge standeth before the door.
Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labour and patience, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Behold, we account them blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful and compassionate." - James 5:9-11
"Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new thing happened to you;
But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." - 1 Peter 4:12-13
Fr. Rodriguez states in his sermon (quoting Fr. John Benedict of the Cross), "It is our response to the crosses God gives us that will determine everything from the peace within our souls here on earth to our place in eternity."
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| St. John of the Cross |
This willingness and desire to seek the cross is one of the prevailing themes in the lives of all the saints, some of whom were so faithful to the path of Christ that it became part of their names (St. John of the Cross [pictured right], St. Paul of the Cross, etc.).
Thomas à Kempis, in his world renowned My Imitation of Christ, frequently speaks of the cross:
"Dispose yourself to patience rather than comfort, and to the carrying of the cross rather than pleasure." (Chapter 35)
"Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His Cross (Luke 14:27). He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of Bread, but few to the drinking of the Cup of His Passion. Many admire His miracles, but few follow Him in the humiliation of His Cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them. Many praise and bless Him, as long as they are receiving any comfort from Him. But if Jesus withdraw Himself, they fall to complaining and utter dejection." (Chapter 36)
Further into the sermon, Fr. Rodriguez quotes Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade (SJ), “To live by faith is to live by joy, confidence and certainty about all that has to be done or suffered at each moment according to the designs of God. God allows the soul to be plunged into and carried away by the rough waters of so many pains, troubles, difficulties, fatigues and overthrows, for it requires faith to find God in all these things. Faith pierces through all and clings to God the giver of life.”
How can we despair, feel angst, irritability or hopelessness if we truly believe that all that is happening in our lives is by the Sovereign will of Almighty God? If we perceive that "bad things" are happening to us, whether from a simple flat tire to a flooded basement to the death of a loved one, if we are truly resigned to believing that "all things come from God," then how can we do anything but rejoice, even in our tribulations?
St. Francis de Sales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, tells us almost exactly the same thing:
"I do not say that one may not desire to be set free [from suffering or desolation], but only that one ought not to desire it over-eagerly, but to leave all to the sole Mercy of God's special Providence, in order that, so long as He pleases, He may keep us amid these thorns and longings. Let us say to God at such seasons, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; "--but let us add heartily, "Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done," and there let us abide as trustingly as we are able."
In speaking of our misguided tendencies when suffering arises, he goes on:
"Sometimes, too, we are like the Bride of the Canticles, slumbering on a bed of sensual satisfaction and perishable delight, so that when the Bridegroom knocks at the door of our heart, and calls us to our spiritual duties, we dally with Him, loath to quit our idle and delusive pleasures, and then He "withdraws Himself, and is gone," and "when I sought Him, I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer." (ibid, Part IV, Ch. 14)
He is making reference to the sometimes frequent habit of turning to the pleasures of the flesh, the indulgences of the senses to try to find some reprieve from the suffering we experience, from the crosses with which we are confronted.
It can be so many things, too.
- Video Game, television, movies, books or music (to space out and even evoke deeper emotions as if desiring on some masochistic level to further subject ourselves to a form of despondent suffering contrary to God's will)
- Food or drink, especially unhealthy food and/or alcohol
- Drugs, cigarettes, stimulants
- Exercise (too much, becoming obsessed)
- Concupiscence
- Etc.
The first scenario I made reference to at the start of this post was someone with a headache expecting instant reprieve from a pill. That is a perfect summary of our society. We do NOT know how to deal with any form of suffering. Any pain or inconvenience in our lives is viewed to be some evil contrary to the will of God which we need to fix rather than some consequence of evil permitted by God to make us stronger which we need to embrace and bear with patience and great perseverance.
St. Francis de Sales goes on:
"Anxiety arises from an unregulated desire to be delivered from any pressing evil...whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit,--steady your judgment and will, and then go quietly and easily after your object." (ibid, Part IV, Ch. 11)
Fr. Rodriguez said this same thing in so many words in his sermon:
“If you’re living by faith, you’re not going to be complaining, getting angry, losing hope, getting discouraged, feeling bitter and frustrated. No. To live by faith is going to be joy, confidence and certainty about everything that has to be done or suffered at each moment because it is according to the designs of God…because he wants to make you a saint!”
As a visual, we can evoke that scene of Jesus walking amidst troubled waters toward the disciples, and St. Peter's wavering faith (at the time) which we can compare to our own.
Matthew 14:
24 But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea.
26 And they seeing him walk upon the sea, were troubled, saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear.
27 And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good heart: it is I, fear ye not.
28 And Peter making answer, said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters.
29 And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus.
30 But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God.
How many times has our faith wavered just the same?
There is a prayer in my missal...a post-communion prayer of St. Augustine.:
Before Thine eyes, O Lord, we bring our sins and we compare them with the stripes we have received.
If we examine the evil we have wrought, what we suffer is little, what we deserve is great.
What we have committed is very grievous, what we have suffered is very slight.
We feel the punishment of sin, yet withdraw not from the obstinacy of sinning.
Under Thy lash our inconstancy is visited, but our sinfulness is not changed.
Our suffering soul is tormented, but our neck is not bent.
Our life groans under sorrow, yet amends not in deed.
If Thou spare us, we correct not our ways: if Thou punish, we cannot endure it.
In time of correction we confess our wrongdoing: after Thy visitation we forget that we have wept.
If Thou stretchest forth Thy hand, we promise amendment; if Thou withholdest the sword, we keep not our promise.
If Thou strikest, we cry out for mercy: if Thou sparest, we again provoke Thee to strike.
Here we are before Thee, O Lord, confessedly guilty: we know that unless Thou pardon we shall deservedly perish.
Grant then, O almighty Father, without our deserving it, the pardon we ask; Thou who madest out of nothing those who ask Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
v. Deal not with us, O Lord, according to our sins.
R. Neither reward us according to our iniquities.
Let us pray.-- O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy suppliant people, and turn away the scourges of Thy wrath, which we deserve for our sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Going back to the quote from Fr. Caussade, "Faith pierces through all and clings to God the giver of life." If we call upon the hand of Christ to save us, He will not refuse us.
If we rely upon His hand to uphold us, to support us, to strengthen us, to sustain us and keep us from falling, we shall never fall.
We will be able to do everything God wills perfectly, even so far as to walk on water.
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Fr. Rodriguez closes by reminding us that "it is the Blessed Virgin Mary who takes us to Jesus and always brings Christ to us. And it is at the foot of the cross that we will always find the Blessed Virgin Mary. The surest place that we will find the Blessed Virgin Mary is the midst of crosses; that's when she comes to our aid to console us and to comfort us. At the foot of the cross, we are never alone. The Holy Mother of God was there first, and she is sure to be there at the end."
Finally, I will leave you with an excerpt from The Curé d'Ars: St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney (Abbé François Trochu); a perfect demonstration of the "highest degree of heroic humility" and of a "love of the cross."
"Sacrifice is the groundwork of every achievement of God's saints...
At times, God allows the purest souls to become the victims of the vilest calumnies...Murmurs arose in many a household that M. le Curé was too strict...[People] were shameless enough to attribute his pallor and emaciation not to his terrible macerations, but ot a life of secret debauchery. [He received] anonymous letters, full of the basest insinuations. [But] he forgave the guilty ones; nay, he went so far as to bestow on them friendship. Had he been in a position to shower benefits upon them, he would have done so.
A holy soul 'turns all bitterness into sweetness,' says St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
The Curé d'Ars had reached the highest degree of heroic humility. He was not merely detached from worldly honors, he despised honor and reputation. [At times when] he might have defended himself, and that publicly, he preferred to weep in silence under the eye of God.
'My God,' he groaned, 'make me suffer whatsoever you wish to inflict upon me, but grant that I may not fall into Hell.'
Truly the cross that weighed on him was proportioned to his destiny. But when once he began to love it, how much lighter it felt! 'To suffer lovingly,' he exclaimed, 'is to suffer no longer. To flee from the cross is to be crushed beneath its weight. We should pray for a love of the cross - then it will become sweet...Verily there is no happiness but in the cross.'"
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