Your cross

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edwinG

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Hi,
How do you know what your cross is?
How can you pick it up and carry it if you don’t know what it is?
Is being a church going confessing christian the only cross for everyone?
Do you expect some enormous sign (Paul’s spot light ) if Christ has work for you?
Has your church said"Jesus wants you to do this work"?
Does your church read out a list of names and associated work in Christh each week?
Do you really believe that Christ has a plan for you, work for you so that you can help His eternal plan?
How many people do you personally know working to God’s plan.

Imagine a super keen little helper in the kitchen busting with desire to help mum with the household work. But at breakfast she peels potatoes which are not needed and cooks a roast, but is too tired to clean the dishes, she washes the bed linen on the same day the mum had changed it etc. There is a time for all things and when done at the right time results in a full benefit. How do you know the right time? Does your church tell you?http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
Walk in love
Christ be with you?
edwinG
 
are you retired? living on a trust fund? you don’t have a job to do every day, people you are responsible for? is your health perfect/ no aches & pains, no chronic disease? are your appetites and desires for created things perfectly ordered? no immoral desires and impulses? no habitual sin you are fighting? no cravings? There is no need to go looking for your cross, it is there waiting for you when you crawl out of bed each morning. Brush your teeth, take your shower, get dressed (if all your little Crosses give you a chance), tote that cross, hoist that barge, lift that bale. Listen to Paul Robeson singing Ole Man River if you want an ideal what it means to carry your cross.
 
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puzzleannie:
are you retired? living on a trust fund? you don’t have a job to do every day, people you are responsible for? is your health perfect/ no aches & pains, no chronic disease? are your appetites and desires for created things perfectly ordered? no immoral desires and impulses? no habitual sin you are fighting? no cravings? There is no need to go looking for your cross, it is there waiting for you when you crawl out of bed each morning. Brush your teeth, take your shower, get dressed (if all your little Crosses give you a chance), tote that cross, hoist that barge, lift that bale. Listen to Paul Robeson singing Ole Man River if you want an ideal what it means to carry your cross.
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Raising children, from infants, through the teenage years, dealing with a husband, wife, boss. Wanting to pray but only have time to work and sleep, wanting to come home when you may be in Iraq or some other part of the world, having your son or daughter there. Losing your mother, father, child or someone you love dearly.

When God wants you to do something you will know, according to Anne Katherine Emerich Noah was not asked once to build an ark but three times.When God calls pay attention, practice listening for him to call you and tell you what he wants you to do. Then be prepared to carry the cross that goes with it.
 
I believe we bear many crosses through our lives. Sometimes they might seem rather insignificant, but any sacrifice or hardship offered through Jesus to the Father has redemptive value. Sometimes our crosses are heavy and difficult to carry. These times especially lead us to ask Jesus to help us carry them. We can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens us.
 
jesus certainly minced no words when it came to our need for suffering. he called it the cross. “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me”(mt10:38)“if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”(mt16:24) to have our feet in the footprints of jesus ,our backs must bear a cross. i know that i carry a cross of my own, live is not easy, raising children, work, etc. but also i feel than whenever iam about to fall there is jesus to give me a hand. bless you all
 
Dear Puzzleannie,
Yes puzzleannie, there is a need to go looking for your cross. Your cross is not surviving with your circumstances but living to do God’s work. Your circumstances have you in “a place” where you are best able to do God’s work. Your circumstances are your blessing, thank Christ for them, look around you and do His work.
Blessed are the poor? And you say How, Why. And I say 10 cents to a man who has nothing doesn’t really mean that much but he can give it and in so doing he has given everything he has to God. Can you do that-no- that’s why he is blessed and you say - well that’s not fair and I say do you want to live his life on earth.
Please puzzleannie, your circumstances are your blessing not your cross. Start doing God’s work. If you ask for the Holy Spirit He will help you enormously. It is very easy if you live a simple routine life. Then when circumstances alter your routine be alert to do some work for God, as his request is upon you. Maybe He wants you to stand up in a bus and give your seat to a younger lady. The Spirit will know she is sick, you won’t know , just go with the flow. If you do this kind thing and it is not God’s will, do you think He will punish you for being kind to a neighbour.
If you do this( stand up on a bus, for instance) and it is God’s will ,how pleased He will be with you. Can you say, I made God smile today?
Remember doing God’s will on earth is a win win situation. You can’t make a mistake if you follow Holy Scripture. Puzzleannie, you have yet to pick up your cross and discover the sheer joy ( and abundant living) of life in Christ. You are missing out on the blessings He gives to those who do His will. Please start today. Please
My love to you,
Christ be with youhttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
walk in love
edwinG
 
Hi Toni,
yes I agree with you and Christ has work for everyone everyday. Imagine millions of Christians each day going about their daily routines looking for small kindnesses to do to those they meet in normal everyday events. We are not talking about building an arc or parting the Red Sea. Bending down and picking up something dropped etc, showing our neighbour that we walk in love and love is the reason we do all things. Smiling , even if our shoes are hurting, sometimes it is when our shoes are hurting that God test us to see if we are sincere. remember Nike, just do it.
Christ be with you,
walk in love
edwinGhttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
 
The source and general nature of our cross, in its origins, can be found in Gen 3:16-19 *:
To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over thee. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou eat the herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.
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edwinG:
Your cross is not surviving with your circumstances but living to do God’s work. … your circumstances are your blessing not your cross.
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I believe you have misunderstood the good poster. Our circumstances are a cross in the sense that we bear them (and thy will be done) while also recognizing both the good we have been given and the spiritual benefit we gain from accepting the bad we have made for ourselves through sin.
“It is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit [into discussion] that the sacred writer has erred.” *
 
Hi CSR,
There is a need for us to lift up our heads from our circumstances. These are not our cross. Doing the work that Jesus has for us is picking up our cross. If our circumstances are our cross then you are telling me that every person except those who commit suicide have picked up their cross. If effect there was no need for Jesus to ask us because everyone does it just by living. No our circumstances are our blessing, and paradoxically the worse they seem to us the more of a blessing they are. But once you start, ask for God’s will in your life, ask for work, ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you, the more abundant your life will be. Please you are missing out on the Joy in Christ. How you must struggle.
Christ be with you,
walk in love
edwinGhttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
 
My cross, currently, is my mental illness. For years I tried to deny it. But I only found peace when I accepted it as my cross. I know that God gave it to me for a reason. I don’t know that reason at this time, and I may never know the reason. But that isn’t important. What *is *important is that God expects me to carry it.

Sometimes life throws us a loop. Like, right now I live on a low income, in a low income apartment building. Some of the people here are, mentally, worse off than I am. Some can be very hard to deal with. Especially considering that I have my own problems. I don’t know how long I’ll have to carry this burden, but I know that God will help me with it. He has given it to me to teach me to trust in Him. So, however long that will take…
 
edwin - are you here to really ask what people’s crosses are, or just to advance your particular view on what our crosses should be?

you’ve said that our daily lives are not our crosses, but our blessings. this, i’d say, is a false dichotomy. our crosses are, in fact, our blessings. they are the means by which God is saving us. our crosses are both what you’re exclusively saying they are - social ministry - and they ALSO include our personal lives - our daily being made more like Christ through the daily sufferings we encounter, and face, through faith.

yes, what you’re pointing TO is true, i think. we SHOULD in fact allow the Spirit of God to open our eyes to needs around us, and shoulder THAT particular cross by helping people who need it. however, just getting up in the morning and facing our day, NOT committing suicide and NOT shirking our responsibility through alcohol, drug, or sex addictions - NOT falling into sin through theft or lying or cheating or gambling excessively - this also is our cross.

it’s a daily cross.
 
Christy Beth:
My cross, currently, is my mental illness. For years I tried to deny it. But I only found peace when I accepted it as my cross. I know that God gave it to me for a reason. I don’t know that reason at this time, and I may never know the reason. But that isn’t important. What *is *important is that God expects me to carry it.

Sometimes life throws us a loop. Like, right now I live on a low income, in a low income apartment building. Some of the people here are, mentally, worse off than I am. Some can be very hard to deal with. Especially considering that I have my own problems. I don’t know how long I’ll have to carry this burden, but I know that God will help me with it. He has given it to me to teach me to trust in Him. So, however long that will take…
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Christy,
As you are a christian, God does not see you as infirm. One of the prophets had to lie on his side for 3 years or so, I can’t remember the details. This is your blessing. Yes it is hard to see and you are thinking well, what if the shoe was on the other foot. But it is your blessing not your cross. How would Jesus get you where you are now if you were not suffering from your mental condition. Your mental condition is necessary to get you to the place Jesus wants you to be so you can do His work. Your There, rejoice , worship our Holy Father and Christ and the Holy Spirit and start looking for the work He has for you to do. You are there to work for Him. Christ wont send a millionaire with a brain like Einsteins to your place, because they couldnt do it, only you can, and you are blessed to be in this position. Oh please ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help you find your work in Christ. Once you start doing His work your life will change and gain new purpose and you will really start to live and feel needed and useful and oh how abundant your life will be. Joy will be in your heart. Start living Christy. I love you.
Christ be with you
walk in lovehttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
edwinG
 
edwin - i don’t know if you realize this, so i’ll let you know. kind of like i appreciate it when my friends tell me that i have something in my nose. i don’t realize it, and i appreciate when someone tells me so i can remove it…

one - when you tell people ‘this is your blessing - be happy you’re in this’ it’s not the most comforting thing to hear. it does, actually, grate against the nerves of the person you’re telling. it’s like ‘aw, come on. it’s not so bad! pick up your chin and enjoy it!’ it’s not welcome advice.

two - when you tell people ‘start living’ and ‘ask Jesus to help you find your work’ it does, of course, imply that the person to whom you’re speaking doesn’t already do it. isn’t already living, isn’t already working for Him.

now go to the bathroom and blow. 🙂
 
Hi,
Christ came to save sinners and probably most of us would like to be doing Christ work of saving sinners in 5 star hotels and fancy places, but sinners do live in slums and in atrocious conditions. God in His wisdom doesnt pick out a person in a tuxedo to visit a slum to help the locals. That person no matter how well intentioned just doesnt have the necessary grass roots grasp of the situation. No, the wisdom of God is to place one of His faithful and beautiful servants there who is one of them and can with a full heart speak out with understanding. Now if you say this is the persons cross, you rob God of the use of His servant who just tries to exist in very poor circumstances. The christian is there to work for God. The work they do is their cross. Jesus’s life as a carpenter was not His cross, that was His blessing , to be a builder of The House. Now , once you find the work that Jesus has for you, and you will find it by asking and being sincere, and then you start doing it the annointing will come. But you must start first.
Here is an example. My back though not critical could be sore. I started mopping the church. My back healed. I did not even pray for my back to be healed, I just thought I would have to put up with it.
Now the work you have to do is right under your nose. That is why you are where you are. Jesus has placed you in your work enviroment. He couldn’t get you there any other way. So he had to make you sick so what. Your blessed. Look for Christ in your daily life and bring in joy. Start living , pick up your cross.
Christ be with you
Walk in love http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
edwinG
 
my suffering can further the salvation of others as well as my own. suffering in the present helps in the application of the grace won for us by christ on the cross. by offering up my suffering in union with christ’s i raise my suffering to a new level of significance. suffering become holy. bless you all
 
edwinG,

I think Paul helps clarify this issue a bit when he says in Colosians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”

Our personal sufferings are indeed part of our daily cross. These sufferings are important in so far as how we handle them. If we accept them in faith and in love of God, then we are picking up our cross and following the Lord. How we deal with every them and every other aspect of our lives determines whether or not we are conforming ourselves to our beloved Jesus. It is by God’s mercy and grace that we carry our cross.
 
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Pax:
edwinG,

I think Paul helps clarify this issue a bit when he says in Colosians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”

Our personal sufferings are indeed part of our daily cross. These sufferings are important in so far as how we handle them. If we accept them in faith and in love of God, then we are picking up our cross and following the Lord. How we deal with every them and every other aspect of our lives determines whether or not we are conforming ourselves to our beloved Jesus. It is by God’s mercy and grace that we carry our cross.
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HI,
Before Paul picked up his cross he was a tentmaker. After he picked up his cross he became a maker of tabernacles. The sufferings came after he picked up his cross. I am talking about people living ordinary lives, who have not yet picked up there cross thinking there circumstances are their cross. The sufferings of people whilst carrying out their cross are of a different burden and are not a torment, although Paul had initial difficulty with his eye afflictation. The sufferings are not the cross, doing the work of Christ is the cross, the work may entail suffering and obviously did enormously in the case of Christ and Paul. Doing the work of Christ will always bring Joy and Peace so if what you are doing is not giving you joy and peace you are missing out. I am NOT saying you give up your bread and butter work. This probably wont conflict with your work for Christ, your cross. You need to ask the Holy Spirit, but to start definitely stay with your current work.
It is very important. Suffering is not your cross. Doing Christ’s work is your cross. A ballet dancer is a baller dancer not a sufferer, but oh how they suffer. The same can be said for any professional athlete, the work causes some suffering but the focus is NOT on the suffering. Get suffering out of your head and think about doing Jesus work.
See the above quote thanks to Pax, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings”. and man were they sufferings but because it was the Lords work it was a matter for rejoicing. Think rejoicing.
To reiterate, Our personal sufferings before we begin the work Jesus has planned for us are not are not our cross. Go and look for your cross, ask God ask Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit. If your sufferings are not a cause for rejoicing then you are not carrying your cross, you are just where Jesus wants you so you can start work immediately.
Thank you Pax for your enlightening post and scripture passage.
Christ be with you
walk in love.http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
edwinG
 
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edwinG:
If our circumstances are our cross then you are telling me that every person except those who commit suicide have picked up their cross.
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Others have added fruitfully to the conversation; I’ll just mention that not all who simply carry on are picking up their cross, because it depends on how we carry on. There are books and pamphlets, for example, on the concept of not squandering illness: our circumstances can be part of our cross depending upon how we handle them. As St. Montfort says in his booklet Friends of the Cross, ‘be like the storekeeper, and make a profit on every item’.
 
Christy Beth:
I know that God gave it to me for a reason. I don’t know that reason at this time, and I may never know the reason.
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Code:
Christy,

Just a gentle reminder that God does not give us anything in life whether illness, joblessness,or any other trial in life. He allows it, which is totally different different approach. We must remember Job and how satan approached Him to malign Job. God allowed it and did not impose it on him. Job was tested in his steadfast love for God. And only by God’s grace, he triumphed. Sames goes for us…

Blessings,
Shoshana
 
One of the most unrecognized crosses is that of our own nauseating ordinariness.
 
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