If you don't complain about your cross people think you are crazy- EWTN Sermon

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Thank you all who posted. I had a momentary lapse of reason because of those comments by the Priest on EWTN and I don’t think the Priest is wrong in what he said, no of course not, I just don’t understand his comments.

I’ll carry on as always.🙂
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Dranzal**, I am very sorry for the loss of your son, Gabriel. No you are not crazy, as one poster said, the world cannot understand the peace we have in Jesus even when bearing the cross nor can it understand us ‘being fools for Jesus’. I am glad it gave you a laugh; I always like to make at least one person do a good belly laugh everyday.😃

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
Now it has come to my attention that the Priest who gave this homily is now facing a large situation. I knew there was something that I couldn’t understand at the time which now makes perfect sense. I’m sensitive like that.

This Priest is suffering a great deal and my spirit and heart is with him.

So now I don’t want anyone to debate this Priests’ situation nor post comments on this Priest because I don’t want to hear a word said about him. I would like you all to pray for him and hold him kindly and lovingly in your hearts and remain a good family to him in Jesus.

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
Will be keeping Father in daily prayer with Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the special guardian of our priesthood…the life of a priest is no bed of roses midst all its blessings and all the priesthood brings to us of awesome blessings…Sacred Heart of Jesus watch over him…
I recall a dear dear priest I had known over many years who visited our parish to say Mass. After Mass I said “Gidday, Father, how are you?” Pain and suffering came into his eyes and he said “No one cares how I am”
“Father I really care”
“Yes, I know you do”…but, you see, in the grand scheme of the grand scheme, I am a no one…
A week later he died instantly of a heart attack…who can know what he was going through…
 
blessedstar said:
I . Well, to get to the point, this Priest said that anyone who goes about and seems to be sailing along with no problems and everything in their life and spiritual life is absolutely wonderful all of the time, then that is insanity, that person is insane.
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no where in your description does this priest advise us to complain about our cross to everyone we meet, in order to avoid the appearance of insanity. sounds like you heard something that wasn’t there.

and by the way, even a person whose own struggle has become public knowledge can still give good advice to others.
 
puzzleannie said:
no where in your description does this priest advise us to complain about our cross to everyone we meet, in order to avoid the appearance of insanity. sounds like you heard something that wasn’t there.

and by the way, even a person whose own struggle has become public knowledge can still give good advice to others.
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What are you talking about!

To be honest you are missing the point and I’d rather not go into it with you.

I never said this Priest could not give good advice. This is not what this thread was about at all PuzzleAnnie. To be honest I am amazed you are inferring that this is my intention!:eek:

The Priests comments make perfect sense to me now but didn’t before.

And I simply asked for prayer for the Priest and not any other comment as you have seen fit to post.

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
Puzzleannie
If you say it about me, then let it stand as you say it about me.

God Bless you

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
The only thing that comes to my mind as to just what this priest meant (without having heard the entire sermon) is maybe he just meant those words as a consolation to those of us whose crosses are really irritating and are a little less gracious about bearing them - like myself.

Those like myself tend to see others’ cheerfullness and joy and peace and think that they really must not have any cross to bear and maybe the priest is just saying to us not to be disillusioned. I was reading the Catechism last night about the 4 temperaments and the first was Sanguine. These people are easily cheerful and not easily irritated even in great difficutly. But they are warned not to avoid problems or ignore reality. Perhaps some people are just in denial?

I would just take them as words of comfort for those of us who have a harder time bearing our crosses with grace and peace.
 
Without listening to the sermon, I cannot make any comment.
We may or may not have caught the real message the EWTN priest tried to convey.
But, that doesn’t matter.

What matters is the Church teaching about carrying the cross.
We all know our Holy Mother had heavy crosses to carry.
We also know Mary always kept things in her heart. That tells it all.
The best way to carry our cross is to offer it up and carry it silently.

We see the same grace and quality in St. Faustina’s diary.
After St. Faustina’s passing away, even her closest friend was surprised to find
so much pain and suffering under her cheerful appearance.

The cheerfulness of the Saints is the natural reflection of the joy of the Lord.
The saints were not pretending, they were not covering up. They were so much in communion with God that the single fact of being with their Beloved is enough.
The togetherness with the Lord surpassed all pain and sufferings.
That’s how they didn’t complain and were cheerful.

For you and I who are not Saints, we have to whine and vent.
After wining and venting, our attitude should be “thy will be done” if we know the cross is from God.

It is important to discern whether the hardship is from God or from devil.
We are not supposed to be submissive to any evil.
 
Here is something I heard at my Project Rachel Retreat last month.

Christ only failed at one thing, carrying His cross. When He said take up your cross and follow me, He knew you would not be able to carry it alone. He set the example for us when He fell and could not carry His cross. He showed us that we will need Him to get thru it all. We need Christ to help carry our burdens.

And another thing I have learned is this:

Suck it up and offer it up. There are many souls in need of mercy.

Peace be with you.
 
There is that fine balance in spirituality that is a matter of the spirit and Grace that just cannot be put into words as rules for “balance” - for rules are never ends in themselves but point to/protect etc. an actual end purpose.
Jesus said “bear ye one another’s burdens”…this I think is not only an instruction to help other’s carry their cross, but (as He did on the road to Calvary) allow others to help us to carry ours if it seems to be too heavy and we are at risk of not coping. The very fact that Jesus did fall three times (no wonder) on the road to Calvary and needed help to carry His cross is something Jesus is telling us in the historical event about the crosses that will come our way and how to bear them.
We are told The Lord will never send us more than we can bear - and this is inclusive of the fact to ask for help and support if we need it.

It is an issue of Wisdom and also Prudence that at times we do need help and to recognize it and reach out for a Simon of Cyrene. It can also be an issue of Humility and Obedience to the Gospel. …and then there are the other times when we somehow know (Grace) that silent and trustful bearing of our sufferings is our call in a situation.
There have been times in my life when I have reached out for help in a sense of desperate desperation of an overwhelming fear of being ‘totally crushed’…and the care and concern of another human being has saved the situation for me and my strength and coping skills were refereshed and renewed, enabling me to continue on my road. This is not an issue for shame and regret, but for thankful gratitude and Joy and especially for those fellow humans gifted with rich Understanding and Compassion and most often this comes about because Understanding and Compassion was first gifted to them in a personal way and not to be “put under a bushel”. Let us praise and thank the Giver of the Gifts of Understanding and Compassion.

Balance! Come Holy Spirit, please come until our minds and hearts move only with Thee.

During the London blitz a large statue of Jesus in a cathedral was destroyed. After the war it was reconstructed but the hands were missing. The hands were never replaced, and under the statue is an insciption “He has no hands but yours”.

Blessings galore and regards…Barb:)
 
I just saw the movie “Into Great Silence,” which Catholic reviews praise highly. It is a film recording life in a Carthusian monastery in the French Alps, film taken over a six month period by one photographer. Though these monks live in almost complete silence, a blind monk who appears through this film speaks to the camera at the end. He says that when God sees us he sees all of our lives at once. All our lives are for our good. Then he says he thanks God for his blindness. I can’t help but feel great admiration for him.
 
mdgspencer said:
I just saw the movie “Into Great Silence,” which Catholic reviews praise highly. It is a film recording life in a Carthusian monastery in the French Alps, film taken over a six month period by one photographer. Though these monks live in almost complete silence, a blind monk who appears through this film speaks to the camera at the end. He says that when God sees us he sees all of our lives at once. All our lives are for our good. Then he says he thanks God for his blindness. I can’t help but feel great admiration for him.
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Hi Mdgspencer…this movie is really getting “rave reviews” though apparently it is quite long and abounds in Silence except for the noises of monks awake and about the monastery. I am looking forward to being able to rent the DVD and see it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts…especially about the blind monk who is thankful for the cross he is asked to bear …I had not heard of this before in reading about the movie…Blessings and my regards - Barb:)
 
So that there is no further confusion, nor accusations against myself or anyone else: I will state forcefully now that I understand the sermon. I will state even more forcefully that the Priest in question is a good man who is suffering greatly and he remains in the Living Prayer of my life. Above all I will state even more forcefully what I have stated before, that I do not want the Priest concerned to be discussed in any way, shape or form.

That should now cease any further posts that question the Priest or question my intent in posting this thread prior to any indications from this Priest of his situation.

Speculation about me and/or my intent or anyone else is attempting to read another’s heart; the wise man would steer clear of doing that and I am outraged people partake in it.

I don’t usually defend myself, but I have chosen to do so in this instance because the same speculation I am enduring in this thread is no dfferent to speculating upon any person and their character and intent. Kindly may I ask that speculation and presumption about other’s hearts stop .🙂

I have asked for prayer and asked for nothing else, so again, I ask you for prayer for this Priest. thank you

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
Alot of times when I give advice, which isn’t often, I am advising myself. When you first posted this question, I thought of this as some kind of internal “duel” between the brothers. A reflection of the speaker. Probably not a good observation, but it helps me to understand others better when they don’t understand me and advise. Sometimes I look at them and say “they are talking to themselves”. Maybe this is what happened in the homily. Peace, Tim
 
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