The cross, especially one of prolonged suffering, is one of the greatest gifts that God can send us. Immersed in that suffering, as though transported into the darkness above the atmosphere, our vision of the vast universe is made clearer.
When the cross is lacking, we may easily mistake fireflies for stars. We might think that all we do is in God’s service, compatible with and even useful for his glory, but all the while we cater to our own ego and vanity. As a result, we offer God a life that mixes smoke with incense.
When, on the other hand, suffering comes to visit us and stays for a long time, we might understand the saints’ words that speak of a life away from the limelight, of self-denial and of authenticity before God and our fellow human beings.
Such a realization can be so strong as to cause one even to offer acts of gratitude to the One who permits suffering.
The cross certainly brings us to the right path and is the guarantee that the roots of our life are expanding: the sign of new beauty about to blossom.
And we start to realize that the beatitudes are not merely promises or encouragements but a reality. One who weeps can really find blessings in this very weeping. It is a true beatitude, though not yet the one to come in eternity.
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