Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH Lk. 9:57-62 “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
- Jesus reminds us today that we must follow Him and not look back – those who look back are not fit for the Kingdom of God. How are we to persevere through the trials and troubles of life?
United with Jesus and Mary in life’s travails… by Pope Francis
If today all of us are gathered here, it is because we are certain that we will not be disappointed in our faith, for Jesus has gone before us. In His Passion He took upon Himself all our sorrows…
I am here to tell you that Jesus is Lord; that Jesus does not disappoint. “Father,” one of you may tell me, “He disappointed me because I lost my house, I lost my family, I lost everything I had, I am sick.” What you say is true and I respect your feelings, but I see Him there nailed to the cross, and from there He does not disappoint us.
He was consecrated Lord on that throne, and there He experienced all the disasters we experience. Jesus is Lord! And He is Lord from the cross, from there He reigned. That is why He can understand us; He became like us in every way, except sin. So we have a Lord who is able to weep with us, who can be at our side through life’s most difficult moments.
Many of you looked to Christ and asked: “Why, Lord? To each of you, the Lord responds from His heart. I have no other words to say to you. Let us look to Christ: He is the Lord, and He understands us, for He experienced all the troubles we experience.
With Him, beneath the cross, is His Mother. We are like that child who stands down there, who, in times of sorrow and pain, times when we understand nothing, times when we want to rebel, can only reach out and cling to her skirts and say to her, “Mother.”
Like a little child who is frightened and says, “Mother.” Perhaps that is the only word which can express all the feelings we have in those dark moments: Mother!
Let us be still for a moment and look to the Lord. He can understand us, for He experienced all these things. And let us look to our Mother, and like that little child, let us reach out, cling to her skirts and say to her in our hearts: “Mother.” Let us make this prayer in silence; let everyone say it whatever way he or she feels.
We are not alone; we have a Mother; we have Jesus, our older brother. We are not alone. Be sure that Jesus does not disappoint us; be sure that the love and tenderness of our Mother does not disappoint us. Clinging to her as sons and daughters with the strength which Jesus our brother gives us, let us now move forward.
Thank you, Lord, for being with us here today. Thank you, Lord, for sharing our sorrows. Thank you, Lord, for your great mercy. Thank you, Lord, because you wanted to be like one of us. Thank you, Lord, because you keep ever close to us, even when we carry our crosses. Thank you, Lord, for giving us hope. Lord, may no one rob us of hope! Thank you, Lord, because in the darkest moment of your own life, on the cross, you thought of us and you left us a Mother, your Mother. Thank you, Lord, for not leaving us orphans!
End of Reflection by Pope Francis
SANCTIFYING SUFFERING IN UNION WITH CHRIST by Fr. Ed Broom,
When confronted with the reality of suffering most of us cringe from it, recoil, even run away from it; we want to flee to some special corner where we believe that we will be exempt from the reality of suffering. However, this is not possible. Whether we like it or not, suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition, our fallen condition as a result of Original Sin.
Confronted with this sober reality of suffering, we should come to terms with the reality that suffering will make us either “better or bitter.” Of all the world religions, Catholicism is the only religion that gives a positive and clear response to the stark reality of suffering. Suffering by its nature is neither good nor bad—it is neutral—rather it depends largely on how the individual interprets it and lives through it.
MEANS BY WHICH WE CAN SANCTIFY OUR PERSONAL SUFFERING…
Truly the only positive means by which we can sanctify our suffering is by uniting our suffering with the life and sufferings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Jesus could have saved the world in many ways, but He chose to save the world through His Incarnation—His life, teaching, words, and miracles, but especially through the suffering that He willed to endure for all of us. This suffering of Jesus became most clearly manifest on Good Friday, when He was condemned to death, scourged and crowned with thorns, then made to carry His cross up Calvary where He was crucified, hanging for three long hours on the cross before breathing His last, for our salvation. Jesus taught us the meaning of suffering, and the way to suffer, by His own suffering.
UNION WITH CHRIST. When we are suffering, it is up to us not to waste it by complaining and trying to run away from the suffering. Rather, we are called to unite our suffering to the sufferings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, especially in His most cruel and sorrowful Passion.
RECOGNIZE OUR SUFFERING IN ITS VARIOUS SHAPES AND FORMS! It is incumbent upon us to recognize the various shapes and forms of suffering that God may send us. Also, it is key to recognize that the sufferings we undergo are sent by God, as we read in the Book of Job who was afflicted by many kinds of suffering as part of God’s permissive will. What might be the different forms of suffering? Indeed, there are many! The most obvious is physical suffering—our own or that of our loved ones. Our body suffers in one form or another: headache, toothache, back pain, or perhaps something more serious, even life-threatening, like cancer. Social suffering—the society and its environs cause us to suffer. We are especially aware of this in the current Covid Pandemic with safety precautions that are restrictive and isolating. Moreover, the society and culture seem to be distancing themselves from God and all morality; due to this we suffer. Family suffering—a family member, possibly very close to us, has made bad decisions and is following a wrong path. We would like to direct them on the right path but they refuse to listen. We suffer! Emotional suffering—fears, worries, anxieties, uncertainties about the future. Perhaps a pervading sadness due to many circumstances. Mental suffering of all kinds that people may suffer for years. Loss of economic stability that threatens our family stability. These exterior and interior states cause great suffering! Then there is spiritual suffering—despite our good efforts, God seems distant, as if He no longer recognizes us, listens to us, or for that matter, even cares about us. This is called desolation. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta spent more than 40 years in an extreme state of spiritual darkness; the mystics call this the Dark Night of the Soul.
All of the above are various ways in which we are prone to suffer. We may suffer in one of these ways, or even more than one of these ways. The key element is to be aware of our sufferings and to unite our sufferings to the Lord Jesus Christ in His sufferings on the cross. By means of this union with Christ, we sanctify ourselves, we sanctify our family, we sanctify the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, and we sanctify the world at large. For this reason, Saint Therese of Lisieux, known as The Little Flower asserted: “When we do evil the whole world is lowered; when we do good we lift the whole world closer to heaven.”
UNION WITH CHRIST’S PASSION, DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN HOLY MASS
Let us take another huge step in understanding our union with the Passion, suffering, and death of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When Jesus died more than 2000 years ago, He promised us: “I will be with you always even until the end of time.” (Mt. 28:20) Where is He now? In His Church, which has as one of its most glorious titles—The Mystical Body of Christ. Most especially, Jesus is present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every time an ordained priest celebrates and offers Holy Mass, in the moment of consecration, under the appearance of bread and wine, Jesus becomes really and truly present. Jesus becomes the spotless Victim, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world in Holy Mass. What happened on Mount Calvary more than 2000 years ago, becomes present once again: In the Mass, Jesus offers Himself—His Body, Blood Soul and Divinity—to the eternal Father for our salvation.
THE KEY THAT OPENS UP THE RESERVOIR OF GRACES IN OUR SUFFERING!
Now the key to raining down a deluge of graces on us in our suffering is the following: uniting our personal sufferings to Jesus, the Victim in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In other words, place your health problems, your emotional suffering, your mental anguish, your family problems, your own dark night of the soul on the paten in the Mass. Then when the priest, who represents Christ, consecrates the host and the wine that is in the Chalice, into the Body and Blood of Christ, your sufferings are elevated on high to the Father in heaven for your sanctification, as well as the sanctification of the whole world!
ONE MORE STEP TO MAKE OUR SUFFERINGS MORE EFFICACIOUS!
Still another step is essential to making our suffering all the more efficacious. It is this: reception of Holy Communion. It is important to participate in Mass and the consecration; however, it is much more complete if we receive the fruit of consecration which is Holy Communion —the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, our Lord and Savior! Upon receiving Jesus with faith, fervor, love, and devotion our sufferings are sanctified to the maximum, and even more, Jesus gives us the grace, the peace, and the strength to carry our cross, and He will even help alleviate the pain. Listen to His most consoling words: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)
START NOW: SANCTIFY YOUR DAILY CROSSES AND SUFFERINGS!
Why not start now. Remember these key words: OFFER IT UP!!! Pray your morning offering and give all to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Then when visited by suffering—be it physical, social, emotional, mental or spiritual—unite it to Jesus’ suffering on the cross, and to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this way, your suffering will take on infinite value because Jesus is both man and God! Many graces will flow from your sufferings for your good and the good of all those for whom you pray—for help in this life, and most important, for our eternal salvation.
May Our Lady who suffered beneath the cross, Our Lady of Sorrows, attain for us the grace not to waste our sufferings, but to sanctify them by uniting all our sufferings with the Passion, death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!
Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA
