The Daily Cross by guest blogger Sarah Heller, age 13

There are many challenges, which we as lay apostles of the Returning King must deal with and suffer through in our lives. One of these is our crosses. We all have daily crosses and we may have crosses that only last a short while . . . crosses such as injury, sickness, etc. A few months ago I had an injury on my skateboard. The day it happened, before I got to the hospital, I was in a lot of pain (for about an hour or so before I got any medicine). I kept saying to myself, “God why did this happen? If only I had not gone to the park today.” I have realized that in my suffering, which I offered to Him for others, He helped many. This has reminded me of a lesson Jesus keeps teaching, (yet I guess I am not listening too well, although I think I got it now), which is that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. And He uses our mistakes for our good and the good of others. It has taken about 3 months or so to heal, after being in the hospital for 4 days. I had surgery, which took 4 hours . . . yes, it was a very bad injury. It was hard, I can tell you that much, but what helped me get through it was God, and the awesome people He put in my way to help me. What I am trying to say here is that no matter what kind of cross you have, God WILL take care you! Be encouraged that God, who is almighty and all-powerful loves us and cares for us as His children. 

In today’s Gospel (Luke 9:22-25) Jesus tells us that He must suffer for us. He is telling us that since Jesus suffered on our behalf for our sins we too must suffer for our sins, for others’ sins and for Him mostly, because through our suffering He can give great graces to those who need them. So do not carry your crosses as if they don’t matter because they do. Jesus uses our suffering for the good of others: 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

In the Monthly Message from January 1, 2008, Jesus tells us this:

“On the contrary, it is through your daily joys and sorrows that you are learning the lessons of love. You might think that your cross is heavy and perhaps in truth the cross that you carry is heavy. You might think that you would proceed more easily or more swiftly without the cross. This is possible, My friends, but to what purpose? Surely, I, Jesus Christ, could have advanced more quickly and comfortably to Calvary without the jeering of the crowds, the physical infirmities or the weight of the cross. This is an obvious statement. But you were destined to be saved by My Passion. The whole world benefited by My decision to accept God’s will, which included suffering. In the same way, the world is benefiting from your decision to accept the crosses in your life. You offer Me your day. This is such a simple thing from the eyes of the world and yet, from the eyes of heaven, this is a very large offering indeed. Do not be afraid of the cross in each day. Do not think that your cross will interfere with the plan that I have for you. The truth is the opposite. The plan that I have for you includes suffering and your holiness will increase because of your crosses.”

So you see Lay Apostles, Jesus tells us both in this message and in the Gospel that we must take up our crosses and follow Him. Now we may sin, but it is part of our experience. In the Stations of the Cross, which of the stations is repeated? Think about it . . . only one and that is the three times Jesus fell. Jesus fell because He was also tired, but what did He do? He got back up and suffered some more for us. We will get tired too sometimes, and not want our crosses. We may say “God take this suffering from me” (I am guilty of this, and I know I am not the only one) but we must fight through it like Jesus did. Pray today that Jesus will give you the strength and courage to get back up when you fall into sin and temptation. 

I thank God for this apostolate, and all the lives it has changed including mine! I also thank God during this Lenten season for the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son because it is through His Passion we have access to eternal life and are saved from our sins. I thank Bonnie also for giving me this opportunity to be a guest writer on her blog!

God Bless,

Sarah Heller