Suffering Now, Glory Later

Dearest Ones,

Don't forget to let your Dad know how much you love him on Father's Day, June 20. He needs to know in writing why you are grateful to him and why you love him.

"We must share His suffering, if we are to share His glory." (Rom. 8:17) Whatever we are going through is absolutely nothing compared to the good things God is going to do in our lives, as we continue to do His will in this world.

I have a good friend, 80 years old, who is dying of cancer. She is filled with much hope, trust and joy in God. I know another woman, age 35, who is confined to a nursing home with MS. The mother of four small children, she is in much pain daily. When I visit her, she is joyful and smiling. She has a good marriage but had to get a divorce in order to get the government to pay the bills in the nursing home. That's just the way it is in our country right now. Single parents can get the help but not married. She got a new lap top for Christmas, so she keeps in close touch with her family. Another young woman practiced all year to run a marathon and became injured a few days before the race. All these are crosses that can save souls, which reminds me that God does not give crosses beyond our ability to handle.

"We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." (Romans 5: 3-4)

I was praying the fourth sorrowful mystery of the Rosary, "Jesus Carries His Cross," when I looked up at the cross and I realized Jesus was alive on that cross for three long hours before He died. I saw the Body of Christ, us, and all those who throughout time have said "Yes" to their cross and to the words of Jesus: "If anyone wants to come after me, let him carry His cross daily." (Luke 9:23) Those words of Jesus mean there is a 100% chance of us Christians carrying a cross.

It is the cross that God the Father used as the means of our salvation through the death of His son. Today He uses the crosses of His children to save us and our families in and through the Body of Christ. There is a meaning in suffering.

Our crosses, big and little, when offered in and through Christ, become HUGE! THEY BECOME DIVINE. They become everlasting for ourselves and our loved ones. We can't see the great number of souls that are saved by our sufferings and disappointments in this life....but God knows. We are helping Jesus save souls.

Before he became a Christian, St. Paul killed Christians every chance he got. One day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Jesus told Him that he was crucifying Him in His followers. "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" He said. Paul answered that he didn't know Jesus was in his followers and he didn't know that killing them was the same as if He did it to Christ. Christ suffers in us today. We are never alone. Jesus is in us up to the last moment of our lives. He won't leave us unless we ask Him to leave....because He loves us.

Your children won't remember everything you tell them, but they will remember how you accepted suffering. It will be either with joy or with bitterness. I have treasured memories of how my mother joyfully accepted suffering. Some people think they are being punished by God if they have suffering. Nothing could be further from the truth. If this is true, then Jesus, who never had an evil thought or spoke an evil word, would be guilty because God asked Him to suffer. God wasn't punishing His Son, Jesus, asking Him to save the world. Jesus went to His cross with love for the whole world and we need to do the same.

Christ suffered, leaving us an example to follow. The greater our suffering in this life, the greater our glory in the life to come.

With love always,
Sister Francelle