<http://ecceagnusdei.blogspot.com/2006/03/saints-interpretation-of-meaning-of.html>A
saint's interpretation of the meaning of the Cross and 14 rules to
abide by in carrying our daily crosses
THE FRIENDS OF THE CROSS by St. Louis De Montfort (1673-1716)
27. You are members of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6, 15; 12, 27; Eph. 5,
30). What an honour! But, also, what need for suffering this entails!
When the Head is crowned with thorns should the members be wearing a
laurel of roses? When the Head is jeered at and covered with mud from
Calvary's road should its members be enthroned and sprayed with
perfume? When the Head has no pillow on which to rest, should its
members be reclining on soft feathers? What an unheard of monster
such a one would be! No, no, dear companions of the Cross make no
mistake. The Christians you see around you, fashionably attired,
super-sensitive, excessively haughty and sedate, are neither true
disciples nor true members of the crucified Jesus. To think otherwise
would be an insult to your thorn-crowned Head and His Gospel truth.
My God! How many would-be Christians there are who imagine they are
members of the Saviour when in reality they are His most insidious
persecutors, for while blessing themselves with the sign of the
Cross, they crucify Him in their hearts.
If you are led by the spirit of Jesus and are living the same life
with Him, your thorn-crowned Head, then you must look forward to
nothing but thorns, nails and lashes, in a word, to nothing but a
cross. A real disciple needs to be treated as his Master was, a
member as its Head. And if the Head should offer you, as He offered
St. Catherine of Siena, the choice between a crown of thorns and a
crown of roses, do as she did and grasp the crown of thorns,
fastening it tightly to your brow in the likeness of Jesus.
28. You are aware of the fact that you are living temples of the Holy
Spirit (1 Cor. 6, 19) and that, like living stones (1 Pet. 2, 5) you
are to be placed by the God of love in the heavenly Jerusalem He is
building. You must expect then to be shaped, cut and chiselled under
the hammer of the Cross, otherwise you would remain unpolished stone,
of no value at all, to be disregarded and cast aside. Do not cause
the hammer to recoil when it strikes you. Yield to the chisel that is
carving you and the hand that is shaping you. It may be that this
skilful and loving Architect wants to make you a cornerstone in His
eternal edifice, one of His most faithful portraits in the heavenly
kingdom. So let Him see to it. He loves you, He really loves you; He
knows what He is doing, He has experience. Love is behind every one
of His telling strokes; nor will a single stroke miscarry unless your
impatience deflects it.
29. At times the Holy Spirit compares the cross to a winnowing that
clears the good grain from the chaff and dust (Matt. 3, 13; Luke 3,
17). Like grain in the winnowing, then, let yourself be shaken up and
tossed about without resistance, for the Father of the household is
winnowing you and will soon have you in His harvest He also likens
the cross to a fire whose intense heat burns rust off iron. God is a
devouring fire (Deut. 4, 24; 9, 3; Heb. 13, 29) dwelling in our souls
through His Cross, purifying them yet not consuming them, exemplified
in the past in a burning bush (Ex. 3, 2-3). He likens it at times to
the crucible of a forge where gold is refined (Prov. 17, 3; Eccli. 2,
5) and dross vanishes in smoke, but, in the processing, the precious
metal must be tried by fire while the baser constituents go up in
smoke and flame. So, too. in the crucible of tribulation and
temptation, true Friends of the Cross are purified by their constancy
in suffering while the enemies of the Cross vanish in smoke by their
impatience and murmurings.
30. Behold, dear Friends of the Cross, before you a great cloud of
witnesses (Heb. 12, 1-2) who silently testify that what I assert is
the truth. For instance, consider Abel, a righteous man, who was
slain by his own brother, then Abraham, a righteous man, who
journeyed on the earth like a wanderer; Lot, a righteous man, who was
driven from his own country; Jacob, a righteous man, who was
persecuted by his own brother; Tobias, a righteous man, who was
stricken with blindness; Job, a righteous man, who was pauperised,
humiliated and covered with sores from the crown of his head to the
soles of his feet.
31. Consider the countless Apostles and Martyrs who were bathed in
their own blood, the countless Virgins and Confessors who were
pauperised, humiliated, exiled and cast aside. Like St. Paul they
fervently proclaim: Behold our beloved Jesus, "Author and Finisher of
the faith" (Heb. 12, 2) we put in Him and in His Cross; it was
necessary for Him to suffer and so to enter through the Cross into
His glory (Luke 24, 26).
There at the side of Jesus consider Mary, who had never known either
original or actual sin, yet whose tender, immaculate Heart was
pierced with a sharp sword even to its very depths. If I had time to
dwell on the Passion of Jesus and Mary, I could prove that our
sufferings are naught compared to theirs.
32. Who, then, would dare claim exemption from the cross? Who would
refuse to rush to the very place where he knows he will find a cross
awaiting him? Who would refuse to borrow the words of the martyr, St.
Ignatius: "Let fire and gallows, wild beasts and all the torments of
the devil assail me, so that I may rejoice in the possession of Jesus Christ. "
33. If you have not the patience to suffer and the generosity to bear
your cross like the chosen ones of God, then you will have to trudge
under its weight, grumbling and fretting like reprobates; like the
two animals that dragged the Ark of the Covenant, lowing as they went
(1 Kings 6, 12); like Simon the Cyrenaean who unwillingly put his
hand to the very Cross of Christ (Matt. 27, 32; Mark 15, 21),
complaining while he carried it. You will be like the impenitent
thief who from the summit of his cross plunged headlong into the
depths of the abyss.
No, the cursed earth on which we live cannot give us happiness. We
can see none too clearly in this benighted land. We are never
perfectly calm on this troubled sea. We are never without warfare in
a world of temptation and battlefields. We cannot escape scratches on
a thorn-covered earth. Both elect and reprobate must bear their cross
here, either willingly or unwillingly. Remember these words:
"Three crosses stand on Calvary's height One must be chosen, so
choose aright; Like a saint you must suffer, or a penitent thief, Or
like a reprobate, in endless grief. "
This means that if you will not suffer gladly as Jesus did, or
patiently like the penitent thief, then you must suffer despite
yourself like the impenitent thief. You will have to drain the
bitterest chalice even to the dregs, and with no hope of relief
through grace. You will have to bear the entire weight of your cross,
and without the powerful help of Jesus Christ. Then, too, you will
have that awful weight to bear which the devil will add to your
cross, by means of the impatience the cross will cause you. After
sharing the impenitent thief's unhappiness here on earth, you will
meet him again in the fires of hell.
<*}}}>< <http://halfthekingdom.mofuse.mobi/>Half the Kingdom!
on your Mobile <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/wordpress/>Half the Kingdom!
Blog <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom! Main Site
<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/by-the-by/>Half the
Kingdom! By the by <*}}}><
Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
<*}}}>< <http://halfthekingdom.mofuse.mobi/>Half the Kingdom!
on your Mobile <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/wordpress/>Half the Kingdom!
Blog <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom! Main Site
<*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/by-the-by/>Half the
Kingdom! By the by <*}}}><
Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list.
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Catholics on Fire" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire
May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
