SAINT HENRY (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 

Most great love stories involve a lover making huge sacrifices for the sake of the beloved—crossing oceans, losing one’s reputation, forfeiting wealth, even risking death.   All such sacrifices are made happily, and boldly, with no regrets—for the sake of the beloved.

But the greatest love story of all is the one of a God who made the most amazing sacrifice imaginable.   He took on our humanity, not as a conquering hero, but as a tiny baby.   He was willingly mocked, spit on, tortured, and finally crucified, all out of love for each one of us.

How can we possibly respond to so great a love?   Can we be like our Savior, the Lover who was happy to sacrifice for the ones he loves?   Can we accept and bear our crosses as Jesus did, out of love for the One who sacrificed for us?

We all have crosses to bear; it comes with living in a fallen world.   We could grudgingly resign ourselves to them.   Or out of love for God, we could accept them with peace and trust and try to be as loving and merciful to those involved as Jesus is to us.   So if we are caring for a family member with a mental illness, we can do it lovingly and with prayerful trust in the Lord.   If we have to relate to a difficult boss each day, we can do it with forbearance and kindness.   If we are serving in a ministry to the poor or the homeless, we can serve even on days when we would rather be doing something else.

The late superior general of the Jesuit order, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, once wrote, “What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.”   Being in love with God will decide everything in our lives, including how we take up and respond to our crosses each day.   The world’s greatest love story is our story as well.   Because God loved us first, we are able to bear our crosses with the love and joy of a lover—and that makes all the difference!

“Lord Jesus, help me to take up my cross and follow after you today with a heart full of love.”

Isaiah 1:10-17
Psalm 50: 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23