Skip to main content

Sorrowful Mysteries, 4th, The LORD Carries His Cross

John 19:16-17
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.

In the 4th Sorrowful Mystery we pray for the grace to bear our trials with patients.

The 4th Sorrowful Mystery has, as I find many times, obliterated what I thought was just a cliche and through the contemplation of this mystery I have seen the truth in the old saying "everyone has their cross to bear".

First of all I am brought back to Mark 8:34 where our LORD says "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." As a Christian my only goal in life should be to be a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to do that I don't need a bunch of stuff. My goal shouldn't be a better job, a bigger house, a "picture perfect" family. If I somehow end up with these things, then so be it. But my purpose should be to be a disciple. To be a disciple, I don't need an easy life. What I need is my cross.

However, in this life the LORD has blessed me tremendously. I have a good job. I have a decent house and cars that run. I have a little money in the bank. I don't want for food. If someone gets sick we go to the doctor. I could go on and on with the good things that the LORD my GOD has blessed me with. But that is not the point of this particular post.

My blessings are many, so even if I am willing to seek out my cross, I sometimes have a hard time finding it because I have it so good. so I pray
LORD, I want to be your disciple. You have blessed me abundantly and I do not see my Cross. Jesus, Son of David, Have pity on me(Luke 18:38). Let me see(my cross).

This is a scary thing to pray. The fact is, I want to be a good disciple and carry my cross as Christ carried His. But, I fear that when He does show me my cross, I will lack the courage to pick it up (the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak Mathew 26:41). So I pray, LORD strengthen me and grant me the courage to pick up my cross.

But, I know that even if I see my cross and even if the LORD gives me the courage to pick it up and carry it that I cannot carry it by myself (because without me you can do nothing. John 15:5). So I pray, Help me, LORD I cannot carry this cross by myself. I am too weak.

Far from being cliche the Cross is central to the Christian life. A lesson I have learned meditating on the 4th Sorrowful Mystery is that my focus in life should be to be a disciple of Our LORD. To be a disciple I must pick up my cross and follow Him. If I don't see my Cross then I need to pray that GOD will grant me sight. That if I fear The Cross, I should pray for the grace to embrace my Cross. Finally, that I will not carry The Cross on only on my own shoulders but if I ask, the LORD will help me under the weight of The Cross.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2015 Valpo Half Marathon Race Report

This was my big tune-up race for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. I always run a half-marathon at this point in the build up to the Monumental to get a final big fitness boost, a reality check on where I am at fitness-wise and, if all goes well, probably the most important aspect is the confidence boost that I get. I got one heck of a confidence boost yesterday, 10/25/2015, at the Valpohalf Half-marathon in Valparaiso IN. Valparaiso is about 2 hours from home which is kind of right there on the line of driving on race morning or staying in a hotel the night before. This time we decided to get up and drive. Valparaiso is on central time which puts it an hour behind us. Meaning the 8:30 AM start was really a 9:30 AM start for me.  Making the decision to drive that much easier. I have been dealing with some issues on the top of my right foot, which is probably extensor tendinitis, for the last couple of weeks. I saw my soft-tissue guy last Friday. He worked on it some and got me
4 comments
Read more

The Gosh Darn Tuesday Morning 15-Miler

What can you say about a 15-mile Tuesday morning run? I can say a lot. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I can say about a 15-mile Tuesday morning run on more 15-mile Tuesday Morning runs than I can count. You see, they are a main stay of the marathon training plan that I use. That plan being Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning 18 week 70-85 miles per week plan. The first thing I can say about the Tuesday morning 15-mile run is that it’s not a long run. Pete clearly defines long runs as starting at 16 miles. So, the 15-miler that begins so many Tuesdays of my life is not a long run. I mean, who ever heard of doing a “long run” on a Tuesday morning. That would just be insane. Being that it’s not a long run I can’t do all of the things that I do around a long run. I can’t obsess over the weather for the 15-miler, I can’t eat extra carbs in preparation for the 15-miler, I can’t expect my family to give me deference and make accommodations for me
Post a Comment
Read more

I Don't Get Anything out of Mass!

A homily that I heard once and some wisdom from an old friend I think really put the Mass and our participation in the Mass into perspective. I remember the homily began by the priest telling us that our parish had lost a family to a non-denominational church down the road. He said that this family actually came to him and said they were leaving and going to this other church for two reasons. The first was that the music was better. The second reason was because they didn't feel like they got anything out of Mass. At this point I remembered something a friend once said that made a lasting impact on me. She said essentially, "I don't come to Mass for the music or for the homily or for anything other than Jesus. I come because Jesus is here in the Eucharist." I wish that those people had known my friend. Because there is no where that you can go to be so close to our Lord as you are when you receive Holy Communion at Mass. The priest reiterated this sentiment and th
2 comments
Read more