Hello and happy Sunday. Yes these weeks are going by so quickly. Sept. is just around the corner. Time goes by so quickly when one is having fun. Oh, are we having fun yet?
Our Gospel from Matthew begins with Jesus telling his disciples that in a short while He will be going up to Jerusalem to face His death.
Like any of us when someone we love says that they are going to die or that they may have a life ending disease our first response is “Oh, God forbid!” And, as we hear, Peter is the one who say “God forbid , Lord. No such thing should ever happen to you”. And we who the end of the story, know that what Jesus said to his disciples came to pass.
One would think that the Christian life would be one of joy, peace, and a whole lot of fun. But the truth is that, as Jesus tells us if we are to follow Him, we must take us our Cross and follow Him.
St. Francis de Sales tells us this, “Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception and consent to His will joyfully. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him in word and deed. Walk very simply with your Cross of the Lord and be at peace for yourself.
Though we sometimes feel we need to say on Mt. Calvary at the foot of the Cross because that is where we feel God would want us to be. But we need to turn around and look down the hill to the empty tomb. That is where the peace and joy of the Christian life gets is life and our ability to carry the cross with joy., Remember, the Cross is a means to an end, and not an end in itself.
Peace and All Good,Fr. Vinnie, osf and theBros and Srs of the Franciscan House of Prayer.
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