From Season to Season

In the latest installment in my series of reflections on the Sunday Readings , I explore the meaning of the words "Take up your cross and follow me." By telling us to “take up” our cross, Jesus isn’t saying that we have to meekly endure unfair treatment and suffering or embrace a blind, “offer it up” sort of spirituality. And, while they may be opportunities for grace, illness, sad events, and even disasters aren’t “the cross.” There is nothing particularly Christian about many of the challenges we face in daily life. Finally, we can never silently or blindly accept abuse or injustice as being the will of God. Jesus rejected these and so should we. Instead, “the cross” that we are to carry is the sacrifices, trials, and hardships that can be a consequence of placing our faith and hope in him and of living according to his teaching. To read the full reflection, click here .

Icon of Mary, " Seeker of the Lost " "Mary experienced uncertainty and insecurity when she said yes to the angel. She knew what oppression was when she didn't find a hospitable place to give birth to Jesus. She knew the sufferings of the mothers whose their children being thrown in the air and pierced by bayonets; she lived as a refugee in a strange land with a strange language and strange customs; she knew what it means to have a child who does not follow the regular ways of life but creates turmoil wherever he goes; she felt the loneliness of the widow and the agony of seeing her only son being executed. Indeed, Mary is the woman who stands next to all the poor, oppressed, and lonely women of our time. And when she continues to speak to people it is the simple and the poor to whom she appears: Juan Diego , the simple old Mexican Indian of Guadalupe; Bernadette , the poor sickly girl in Lourdes; Lucia, Jacinta, and Francesco [ sic ], the unspectacular children o...