"Then, speaking to all, he said, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me." ( Luke 9:23)
This message from Today's Gospel reading is one of the most helpful to me during my times of struggle within my faith journey. It is through this that I am humbled and also directed back to the sufferings of Jesus and the Cross He carried. Through this reflection I am able to recognize the smallness of my own trials, while at the same time being made aware of the love that Jesus had for each of us. With this realization one can work fervently to mortify those things within that may take them far from God and their faith. We must recognize the importance of sacrifice and gladly take up our "Cross". In our times of difficulty, pain, toil, and confusion about "why" certain things are occurring may we look toward the Cross and trust that Jesus journeys with us and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. (C.C.)