Why are you afraid to take up the cross?

In the cross is...

• salvation
• life
• protection from your enemies
• heavenly sweetness
• strength of mind
• joy of spirit
• the highest virtue
• perfect holiness

When you make with your hand the Sign of the Cross, you are praying in the Name of the Blessed Trinity. Through it, you unite yourself to all three Persons who are your God and you offer the deepest intentions with the expectation of being heard by them.

Do not be afraid of the cross...of your cross, as you had said you were. You pretend that it does not bear down upon you - that its weight does not frighten you - but when God handed it to you, He also gave you the grace to carry it.

Look, little one, at all the beautiful gifts that come along with it. Granted that you do not accept it for the gifts but simply for accompanying Jesus on the road to Calvary...however, there is consolation in the Lord's unfailing goodness especially during times of great suffering.

What appears to be "failure" in the world's eyes was Heaven's greatest victory. Our Lord's death defeated all sin and reclaimed the souls of the just. You share in that triumph when you, too, are crucified...when you willingly get up on that cross and tell Jesus that you will remain beside Him for as long as He needs you to.

Do not be afraid. There are many who have expressed their desire to help you along your own "passion". These are the "Simon of Cyrenes" in your life. Your mother. Fr. Ed. Fr. Larry. Your brothers and sisters who intercede on your behalf every day. Their prayers and counsel are the hands that lift the splintered wood from your shoulders. You know that they will be with you as you climb that hill...that they will not mock you from their crosses but rather stand at the foot of yours when you get to the top and are ready to die to yourself.

Do not be afraid. Every saint has chosen this path...

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If you want to follow Me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. For whoever chooses to save His life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for My sake will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world if he destroys himself? There is nothing you can give to recover your own self.' " (Mt. 16:24-26)