Accept Your Daily Loss
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”Ps. 22
Much suffering comes from not wanting to listen to Jesus and the wise counsel He gives us, such as accepting our daily cross. More than suffering because of what happens to us, we suffer because of the way we face what happens to us. For this reason, each person experiences or suffers things very differently, according to their level of acceptance and the way they interpret them. For example, let us think about the death of a loved one, such as a mother. Some of her children may cry inconsolably while others experience it in peace.
Why? It depends on their level of faith and trust in God. The one who does not have God will obviously suffer this much more, because he has no hope of seeing her again. He has nothing to hold on to; he finds no meaning in the death of a loved one whom he believes he will never see again. The disciple of Christ, IS HUMBLE OF HEART, is accustomed to accepting the cross of each day, and God makes it gentler and lighter for him. The Word of God gives meaning to death and offers the hope of salvation.
The one who does not take up his cross as Jesus asks in order to be His disciple constantly struggles against reality, because in this world no one is free from adversity, setbacks, difficulties, physical and moral suffering, frustrations, and so on. If a person does not learn to accept all this, his frustration will be doubled. As the saying goes: He who gets angry has two jobs—first getting angry, and then having to let go of his anger and frustration.
The same happens with the one who does not accept whatever cross may come: rebellious children, difficult spouses, hard work, heavy and uncomfortable coworkers, material poverty, illnesses, and so on. Jesus teaches us to accept the cross of each day in order to be His disciples (Mt 10:38; Mt 16:24), which is the same as living as children of God and citizens of heaven. The one who rejects and refuses it deprives himself of the help of Jesus, who would make that burden gentler and lighter and turn it into a means of sanctification, which is a highway to Heaven.
The disciple of Christ accepts the human condition, with all its consequences, as Christ accepted it and taught us to do. For this reason he does not complain, but lives responding to evil only with good, sowing good seed through the works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual.
Let us contemplate Christ this HOLY WEEK, who gives us the example of how a child of God is capable of loving. We are called to live that same maturity and holiness as children of God, following the examples and teachings that Jesus gives us through His life and His word.
Prudence, Explained!
Those who have the vision condition of nearsightedness need glasses in order to discern objects which are far away. Without the aid of glasses, a nearsighted person’s world is small; anything which lies beyond their strength of vision is hidden to them.
The virtue of prudence is like glasses for a soul made nearsighted by original sin. “A prudent man is one who sees as it were from afar, for his sight is keen, and he foresees the event of uncertainties, said St. Isidore of Seville.”
The Catechism teaches that prudence disposes our practical reason to not only discern what is good, but to choose the right way of achieving that good. Prudence is “the charioteer of the virtues,” guiding the judgment of our conscience and directing our actions in accordance with that judgment (CCC 1806). Without prudence, not only can we not clearly see what is good, but we have no hope of realizing that good.
Readings of the Week
Sunday: Mt 21:1-11 (37)/Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24/Is 50:4-7/Phil 2:6-11/Mt 26:14-27:66 or 27:11-54
Monday: Is 42:1-7/Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14/Jn 12:1-11
Tuesday: Is 49:1-6/Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17/Jn 13:21-33, 36-38
Wednesday: Is 50:4-9a/Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34/Mt 26:14-25
Thursday: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14/Ps 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18/1 Cor 11:23-26/Jn 13:1-15
Friday: Is 52:13-53:12/Ps 31:2 and 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17 and 25/Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9/Jn 18:1-19:42
Saturday: Easter Vigil: Gn 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a/Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35 (30) or Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)/ Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18/Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 (1)/Ex 14, 15-15:1/ Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 (1b)/Is 54:5-14/Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13 (2a)/Is 55:1-11/Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 (3)/Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 (Jn 6:68c)/Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28/Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (42:2)/Rom 6:3-11/Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23/Mt 28:1-10
Next Sunday: Acts 10:34a, 37-43/Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 (24)/Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8/Jn 20:1-9 or Mt 28:1-10 or Lk 24:13-35
Celebrations of the Week
Sunday: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Monday: Monday of Holy Week
Tuesday: Tuesday of Holy Week
Wednesday: Wednesday of Holy Week
Thursday: Thursday of Holy Week
Friday: Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Next Sunday: Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter
