Sep 22 Tue
Do I really need to offer sacrifices?
We need to mortify our body to share in Christ's Cross.
Corporal mortification is a necessary means, not an end in itself. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
“There comes to mind the dream of that author of the golden age of Spanish literature. The writer sees two roads opening up before him. One of them is broad and smooth, easy to travel, with many comfortable inns, taverns, and other places of beauty and rest. Along this road go great crowds of people on horseback or in carriages, in a hubbub of music and mindless laughter. One sees a multitude intoxicated by a joy which is simply short-lived and superficial, for this road leads to a bottomless precipice. It is the road taken by the worldly-minded, ever seeking material pleasure, boasting a happiness that they do not really possess and craving insatiably for comfort and pleasure..."
“They are terrified at the thought of suffering, self-denial or sacrifice. They have no wish to know anything about the Cross of Christ. They think it is sheer madness. But it is they who are insane, for they are slaves of envy, gluttony, and sensuality. They end up suffering far more, and only too late do they realize that they have squandered both their earthly and their eternal happiness in exchange for meaningless trifles.”
“Our Lord has warned us about this. The man who tries to save his life shall lose it; it is the man who loses his life for my sake who will secure it. How is the man the better for it if he gains the whole world at the cost of losing his own soul?"
“In that dream there is another path going in a different direction. It is so steep and narrow that the travelers who take it cannot go on horseback. All who take it must go on foot, perhaps zigzagging from side to side, but they move steadily on, treading on thorns and briars, picking their way round rocks and boulders. At times their clothing gets torn, and even their flesh. But at the end of this road a garden of paradise awaits them, eternal happiness, heaven.”
“This is the way taken by holy people, who humble themselves and who, out of love for Jesus, gladly sacrifice themselves for others. It's the path of those who are not afraid of an uphill climb, who bear the cross lovingly, no matter how heavy it may be, because they know that if they fall under its weight, they can still get up and continue their ascent. Christ is the strength of these travelers."
To live with Christ, we need to contemplate again what Jesus suffered for us in his Passion and Death; we can conquer our resistance and arouse our determination to follow our Lord closely.
“So much do I love Christ on the Cross that every crucifix is like a loving reproach from my God:
‘I... suffering, and you... a coward.
I... loving you, and you... forgetting me.
I... begging you, and you... denying me.
I... here, with arms wide open as an Eternal Priest, suffering all that can be suffered for love of you... and you... complaining at the slightest misunderstanding, over the tiniest humiliation...’”