A 20th Sunday after Pentecost Thought To Help Us Bear Up

Fall is here. It's an October Sunday. Many of us in the Northeast have a real affinity for fall. While summer lovers don't relish the change from the warm sun to the cool breezes, it's hard for anyone to argue with the beauty of the changing leaves. 

Some of us have already seen God's green turn to his yellow, red, and gold. In our neck of the woods, the deepest color typically takes a bit longer. But it's coming.

Will this year bring a lush fall blanket that leaves us jaw-dropped each time we take the time to take notice? Or will it be one of those years where colors barely manifest before the leaves fall from the trees and leave us with the bare winter outlines that trees become, except for the evergreens? Last year was  less than lush year. Let's see how this year unfolds.

While some fall seasons can be more or less colorful, I've never really lived through what I might call a bad autumn. However things unfold, I'll take it.

Wouldn't it be something if all of life could be that way? You know, great and not-so-great. Of course, that's not happening. And we Catholics know that it's nothing that should concern us. We know that this world is basically a way station on our way to - we hope - heaven. So rather than complain about any disappointments or suffering we encounter, we see these as the crosses they are: crosses that unite us to that Cross on which our Our Lord suffered and died so that we might hope for eternal life. We believe that the crosses that come our way should not only be tolerated, not only be accepted, but actively embraced, even loved.

Our crosses are our means to grow in sanctity. They bring us closer to Our Lord. We  might even consider them gifts from a good God Who knows how to temper and shape our souls to advance our salvation. And we know that He will provide us with the graces we need to bear our crosses, maybe even without resistance or complaint (extraordinary grace to be sure!).

Okay, so that's all easy to say. But it really is how things should be. And to the extent they're not, we need to take the time and trouble to find ways to make things how they should be.

Each of us, as unique creatures of One God, have our own crosses to bear. But we also share many common difficulties. We looked at some of these a couple of Sunday's ago. Then last Sunday we considered a reasonable and, we would assert, Catholic way to keep a good attitude in the face of those difficulties. In light of our recognition that crosses ultimately come to us from God, and that they can be - should be - instruments of our salvation, let's take a few minutes to read and meditate on some words contain specific suggestions for making the most of our difficulties and suffering. And as we note almost every Lord's Day, Sunday is the perfect time to find the time and inclination to advance our spiritual life.

“Teach me, my Lord, to be kind and gentle in all the events of life: in disappointments, in the thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied. Let me put myself aside: to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches so that I may be the only one to suffer from them. Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty, or overbearing. May no one be less good for having come within my influence; no one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble, for having been a fellow-traveler in our journey towards Eternal Life. As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper from time to time a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity.” - Author Unknown

Thank you "Unknown." You summed up quite well a long list of items that we all face, albeit at different times in different degrees. Two that particularly stood out for me:

- Let me put myself aside: to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

- May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity.

Those are mine. Do you have any that stood out for you? 

Oh, and isn't it so appropriate that the author here remains unknown? I don't know if that was on purpose. But it sure does fit what he or she expressed, doesn't it?

Happy Sunday!