Crosses with Christ: Weekly Message for 9-12-17

Dear Fellow Digital Pilgrim, pax Christi:

The primary symbol for our Catholic faith is the Crucifix.  Notice that I say “crucifix” and not just “cross”.  Catholics use Crucifixes.  The Crucifix reminds us of the central revelation of God’s love for us, which was the engine behind the Redemption worked by Christ through his sacrifice of Calvary.  But that’s not all.  The Crucifix, as opposed to just “the cross”, reminds us that we never have to suffer alone.  Jesus is with us in the crosses that come to us throughout our life’s journey.  Our crosses never have to be raw.  They can be golden opportunities for deepening our communion, our friendship, with Jesus, if only we unite them to his cross.

All of this is on my heart as the annual liturgical feast of the Triumph of the Cross approaches.  As followers of a Lord who was crucified and who rose from the dead, we celebrate the Cross.  Somehow, all the trials and sorrows of this life, when we learn to live them with faith, become meaningful and fruitful.  This truth is also communicated by the liturgical feast that occurs on the day right after the Triumph of the Cross – the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, in which we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, who stood firm at the foot of the Cross out of love for the Lord.

Both of these hope-filled and life-giving mysteries – Christ’s own crucifixion, and Mary’s sorrowful accompaniment of her son on Calvary – are developed, explained, and presented in two of our Retreat Guides: The Colors of the Cross  and A Mother’s Tears   As the fall gets into full swing, I cordially and energetically invite you to revisit those retreat guides – available as always in PDF, audio, or video form.  

Make use of them for yourself and for your loved ones in this autumnal season of transition, to help you pray through these deep mysteries through which God reveals to us his plan for our lives and the meaning behind our sufferings.  We need to go deep into these mysteries, to pray through them, in order for our faith to mature, and so that we can help comfort those whose faith is new, or even those who as of yet have no faith.  

And in the meantime, you can keep counting on our prayers for you, every day, as we keep striving to evangelize the Digital Continent.  Thank you for your support and your prayers.  And please let us know how we can serve you better.

 

Peace in Him, Fr John Bartunek, LC

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