The Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Blessed are ye
Week 23
Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.
Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven. Mt. 5:11-12
How many times a day do we make the sign of the cross?
Yet how many times a day do we accept the cross and carry it?
Every time we make the sign of the cross it should be a promise and a commitment to carry it whenever it comes along in our life.
Throughout his life, St. Maximilian carried his cross. From being made fun of in the seminary, to his loneliness and homesickness in Japan, to his poverty and daily dying to self in order to live for the Immaculata.
It is because of his daily dying to self and carrying of his cross that he was able to go down into the starvation bunker in Auschwitz singing!
Carrying the small, daily crosses of life enables us to carry the large crosses when they come along.
One of the desert fathers once said, “Of course it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft-feather bed, but what is required is to carry one’s cross along the way, for the kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles but many.”
Until one is personally persecuted for one’s Faith, one will never know the True Joy of sharing the Cross of Christ and hearing the words, This day, you will be with Me in Paradise!”
Rather than be angry and resentful towards those who persecute us, we should be grateful, for because of them we are Blessed and able to share in the Cross of Christ!
Prayer:
May I never boast of anything, but the cross of the Lord. To share in His sufferings so that I may know the Joy of the resurrection and be blessed forever in Heaven. Amen
Meditations and questions: 1. How many times a day do I make the sign of the cross? 2. What are the daily crosses in my life and how well do I carry them? 3. Who is being persecuted for their Faith in the world today? 4. How does their cross compare to mine? 5. How
1. How many times a day do I make the sign of the cross? 2. What are the daily crosses in my life and how well do I carry them? 3. Who is being persecuted for their Faith in the world today? 4. How does their cross compare to mine? 5. How
2. What are the daily crosses in my life and how well do I carry them? 3. Who is being persecuted for their Faith in the world today? 4. How does their cross compare to mine? 5. How
3. Who is being persecuted for their Faith in the world today? 4. How does their cross compare to mine? 5. How
4. How does their cross compare to mine? 5. How
5. How I can live my Faith more fully and publicly?
6. How do I respond when I am ridiculed or persecuted for my Faith?