Take up the Cross – Angry at God – Finding the Hidden Jesus

Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Take up the Cross – What is the cross to us who believe? Among many other things, it is a sign of our lowest point, our sufferings joined with Christ’s; it is great pain, sadness, and brokenness. The cross reminds us of just how unworthy we are and what that unworthiness physically cost our dear Lord. As Pope Francis expressed in his catechesis, it is Jesus taking upon himself all human suffering as He reminds us, “He clothed himself in this suffering.” If that is the cross, then the uneasiness I saw as my fellow Catholics venerated the cross was really a profound recognition of that very suffering. We tend to be uneasy around suffering and brokenness. We don’t know what to say or what to do to make it all go away. Our first inclination is not so much to kiss it as to fix it somehow.  We are fixers, so we take up the cross and keep it in our minds as we serve all in need.  We see the brokenness and know we are serving Jesus.  We must never criticize and judge and we should always do the best we can. Sometimes we cannot fix it all, but we do have help.  We carry the cross, we serve Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us.  We walk with a sense of accomplishment with the Trinity. When we see the broken and cannot find a solution we still have to cling to hope. It’s moments such as those—awkward or otherwise—that bring us closer to Christ. Quote from Pope Francis – “This week it will do us good to take the crucifix in hand and kiss it many, many times and say: thank you Jesus, thank you Lord.”

 Angry at God – A friend of mine recently shared that her daughter was angry with God. A dear friend was facing cancer and her daughter was sure God could do something but wasn’t, and she was mad. Anger is an understandable stage in the grief process. We want someone to blame. God understands anger and He never leaves us.  We’ve all been told God is love, not love as a forlorn romantic emotion, but a power that defies logic, money, time, and even human capacity. This Love is not a being so far removed from our experience that it can easily be forgotten, but one so intimately close to us as to be within us in every moment, every step, every ache, and every prayer. Try inserting “Love” in place of the word “God.” To say, “I am so angry at Love for allowing this to happen!” doesn’t quite make sense. But to stand in the face of our greatest tragedies and fears and search desperately within ourselves for the capacity to respond in love is what prayer is all about.  God never stops loving us.  He gave us a free will and does not interfere with it. The power of Love does not promise an easy road in any given situation—or should I say the power of God does not promise an easy road. Love will at times break your heart, not as a test or a punishment, but because it calls forth the very best in us.  We won’t always win the race and we have to take the risk, without reward or guarantee of success. God does not abandon us.  He gives us the great capacity to be with those who are suffering and to act with justice and serve with mercy.  We believe in Resurrection and we never give up.  Be pleased with your journey and always ask God for forgiveness.  It is always there.

Finding the Hidden Jesus – It is not difficult; we just have to look and pray.  Our Catholic spirituality emphasizes the concept of “finding God in all things.” This reminds us Christ is found not only in the church and the sacraments, but also in more hidden places where we might not expect to find God. The Gospels show us a kind of hiddenness about Jesus at several significant points in His own life story—He is the child who has to be sought out and found in an unexpectedly poor place by both shepherds and wise men; the teen forgotten before being found in His “Father’s house;” the young man just beginning His ministry rejected by those in His hometown; and the resurrected Christ who at first is not recognized even by His friends and followers. Christ seeks us out, but we also have to respond in kind by actively seeking Him in the many phases of our own lives, from new births to moments of loss and growth, and in diverse kinds of relationships with others. He never gave up and nor should we. Each morning I try to see Jesus and often we don’t have to look far.  He is in the beautiful sunrise, or sunset and a rainbow.  One morning I woke my teenage son, who had doubts about my faith and I called him to hurry upstairs.  I hugged him and made him look out the window at the beautiful rainbow.  “This is Jesus,” I said and how can you not believe.  My other beautiful moment came when we were cloud watching and we saw the face of Jesus in one of the clouds.  The more we looked the more vivid the picture became.  Jesus is hiding and it is our job to find Him.  We need to especially find Him in the broken, and dirty.  This is Jesus we serve.  He is in our families our fellow Vincentians and our priests, deacons, seminarians and all religious.  He is there believe. We see Him each day we read one of Pope Francis quotes.  We are truly blessed.  Think about where you have found the hidden Christ?

Pray for all Vincentians in all countries, pray for all you serve, pray for our clergy, religious, and our young Vincentians and our young people in general and seminarians and our dear Pope Francis.

Blessings,  Lynn