We
triumphantly sing along with Kelly Clarkson,
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
But
when we are challenged by Christ,
challenged
by our faith,
challenged
by the Cross,
those
lyrics don’t apply.
We
seemingly become the kings and queens of
whining,
complaining,
and
weak links.
We
think we have to suffer these 40 days of Lent
and
then we get to party and sail smoothly for the remainder of the year
because
Christ died on the Cross for us.
He
did the dirty work.
He
even said His load is light and His burden easy.
That’s
the life I’m going for; light and easy.
But
rather,
The
Cross of Christ is set forth as an example
of
how we should respond to the Cross.
Life
is full of crosses.
But
not one is aimed at dragging us down.
They
are all for a greater glory
but
we are too busy complaining about them
to
see through the Cross
into
the glory of the Cross.
“Expect to be pruned, hewed, chiseled under the
hammer of the Cross; otherwise you will remain like rough stones which serve no
purpose.”
We’re
all for Christ
until
the Cross comes.
What
if Christ backed out
because
the Cross involved too much pain?
What
glory has come from
Christ
suffering on the Cross!
What
gives us the right
to
back out of our daily crosses?
What
are we missing
by
being wimps?
What
glory could stem from
us
carrying our crosses like Christ?
Knowing
that we are nothing without Christ
means
that we cannot successfully carry our crosses on our own.
He
is there,
in
fact,
He
is holding most of the weight.
It’s
our job then to carry our portion
and
bring glory to His name in doing so;
as
He brought glory to His Father.
What
glory can you bring to the name of Christ by carrying your cross?
.jpg)
This Lenten blog series is based upon St. Louis de
Montfort's writings. Unless otherwise noted, all the phrases in quotation marks
are taken from the book Jesus Living in Mary.
Where can i get the book, Jesus Living in Mary? It sounds like it would help me in my life. Do you have any other books that you recommend in helping us live our daily lives for Christ? and where the best places are to get them?
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay! I found Jesus Living in Mary at the Catholic Book Store (on Magnolia)...I think it is a bit cheaper on Amazon. It is a massive book; a compilation of multiple authors commenting on the spirituality of Montfort while weaving his writings throughout. Montfort wrote God Alone which is another great book along with the Total Consecration book. These should be on Amazon as well. Hope this helps! Thanks for reading and sharing!!
DeleteA.M.D.G.
ReplyDelete“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Quite the opposite is true...what kills you, crucifies you, the carrying and embracing of each cross that we bear...THIS is what makes us stronger. Self-mortification, death to "self" is what makes us stronger. We die daily, over and over again throughout each day...as we say "no" to our "self".
May we receive the graces to endure the weight of each cross Christ gives us to bear, that our "self" may be crucified and we become more like Him who loved us first.
+Amen.
Mrs.O.