Take up your cross daily and follow me
Today’s Gospel has a very familiar phrase. When I hear it, I immediately think of Simon of Cyrene who was pressed into service to help Jesus carry His cross on the road to Calvary. But this simple phrase is also true for each of us: “Take up your cross.”
Every day we get out of bed and pick up the “cross” of our pain, worries, frustrations, fears and anxieties and try to follow Jesus. Sometimes the cross feels light. We have gratitude for the blessings in our life that make the load seem manageable. Other times the load is heavier than we think we can bear and we struggle to get through the day, grateful at day’s end to have carried the load one more day.
It makes me wonder what we really expect from this life of ours here on earth. Do we expect life to be a time when all of our expectations are met? Where everything falls into place and there is little or no pain or conflict? Do we believe that if we scrupulously follow all of the commandments, pray, read scripture, fast – do all that is asked of us by our Lord – that we will have no struggles? Will that make our cross lighter? We all know that life does not work that way. Good people have horrible tragedies befall them. People who disregard all spiritual connection seem to live happiness and bounty. Often, life simply makes no sense!
I am convinced that, while Jesus calls us to “carry our cross”, He also calls us to be joyful on the journey. There are occasions when I come into church and I encounter people who seem to have no joy. They appear unapproachable; almost angry when they glance my way. I am usually hesitant to speak to them – for in my perception, they are signaling that they want to be left alone. I have come to believe that this is a moment of evangelization for me. We may believe that evangelizing focuses on standing in the pulpit (or on a street corner) proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s salvation. But the word simply means to try to convert. We can do this by living with joy – and sharing that joy with others.
I believe that is what our Lord has asked us to do when he calls us to follow Him. As Catholics, we know there is more to this life than the constant disappointments and pain that weigh us down. There is more than this “cross” we pick up every day. We have the ultimate hope of everlasting life and the joy that hope gives us during our bleakest moments.
May we simply live as though we believe that Christ walks with us – live a life of joyful hope. That model will bring hope to others and will bring Christ into the world more authentically, more convincingly, than any words we utter.
Kathy England, Pastoral Associate
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Greetings from a new Jesuit Deacon:
Hello, my name is Matthew Dunch, SJ, and I’m delighted to serve as a deacon at St. Xavier for the next two months. I grew up just south of Youngstown, Ohio and entered the Jesuits in 2006 after meeting various Jesuits as an undergraduate. I taught Philosophy at Xavier University from 2011 to 2014 and also served as a trustee of St. Xavier High School. I recently completed my Master of Divinity degree at the Regis College, the Jesuit theologate of the University of Toronto, and was ordained to the diaconate on May 21st in Toronto. Though many parishes are not used to having deacons, they minister through works of charity and liturgical service since the beginning of the Church (1 Timothy 3:8-10; Acts 6:1-6). Diaconal ministry includes assisting at Mass, preaching, baptisms, marriages, various blessings, catechesis, and a wide variety of service activities. Today, two types of deacons minister in the Church: 1) Permanent deacons are typically married and embark upon diaconal ministry after many years in another profession and often jointly with that profession. 2) Transitional deacons, like me, are in their final stage of preparation for the priesthood and minister as deacons while completing theological studies. The transitional diaconate usually lasts about a year, followed by ordination to the priesthood. I will be ordained to the Jesuit priesthood in June 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.