Suffering With the Poor

I had never had the nerve to try to learn exactly how Crucifixion kills until recently.  It is even worse than I thought. I imagined myself with Mary at the foot of the Cross, wanting to leave so that I did not have to endure the pain and horror of watching, but unable to go because I could not leave Him, either...and I wept, wishing I could love Him as much as He loves me.

Being with our clients in St. Vincent de Paul is much the same...When we suffer with the people whom God sends to SVDP, we are standing at the foot of the Cross suffering with Jesus, witnessing His suffering, and not turning away--because we don't want to leave Him alone. This is how we can honor Him, this is how we can love Him--by staying there, even though we don't want to.

He would still do it: He would still suffer and die for us, whether we stayed or not--because He loves us THAT much! ... but in some mystical way, we are sharing in His suffering by staying, by going to these people's homes, by hearing what they have to say, by praying with them, and by helping them as best we can-- even though it's never enough.

Prayer at the Hour of the Crucifixion

Lord Jesus, Redeemer of all, hear my prayer.

For the love You bear to those who ask forgiveness,

look mercifully on me,

as You looked on Mary Magdalene

and on Peter who denied You. 

Look on me, Lord Jesus Christ,

as You looked on the thief on his cross,

and on every sinner

whom You have ever forgiven.

Look on me, merciful Lord,

as You looked on Your mother, Mary,

standing in sorrow beneath Your cross.

Let me feel in my heart

her compassion for You,

and let my eyes weep

for the sorrow my sins have caused.

Call me from the darkness

 to my Father's house,

give me a new heart

 and a place at Your side in Eternity.

Amen

My God, I believe, I adore, 
I trust, and I love You! 

I beg pardon for those who do not believe, 
do not adore, do not trust, 
and do not love You.

The Meaning of the Crucifixion

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+JMJ+

After Mass this morning, I was alone in the church, and because it is Lent and I can't attend the community celebration of this traditional devotion, I made the Stations of the Cross by myself.  I have not done that in at least 35 years!  

To be perfectly honest, I wanted it to mean more to me than it did at that time. Later on, I was looking at the crucifix on the wall in my room, and I asked Jesus to give me a deeper understanding of what His death on the Cross really meant:  I understand that it was horribly painful, and that in the Catholic Faith, we believe that suffering is not meaningless if accepted in the right spirit-- but I still felt it must be about more than that.  

This is not a profound observation by any means, but I think at its core, the significance of Christ's Crucifixion is really about obedience, not suffering: perfect obedience to His Father's will, despite the fact that obedience included acceptance of terrible physical pain and a sense of being abandoned.   

We ourselves may never suffer physically in this life (although we probably will at some point), but what really matters is that we are obedient to His will, whatever that may be.  Obedience in itself, though, can cause interior suffering, because we have to renounce our desire to have things our way, which can be very difficult--at least it is for me.  

Please grant, dear Lord, that I may never refuse to do what You ask of me.  +