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Jesus Carries
his cross

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READ THE WORD

John 19:16-17
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.  So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 

learn and reflect

Jesus was forced to carry his cross.  The means of His death was a burden he had to carry.  When Jesus taught us saying  “take up your cross,”  He was telling us that we have to die to ourselves.  But he was also teaching us that ‘success’ isn’t where you meet God the most – it is in your struggles and failures.  Those are the places you come to understand Jesus the most, and the moments where your ‘death’ prepares you to trust Jesus more. 

As Thomas Merton puts it, "A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God."  I experience the goodness of God the most when I most need his goodness.  What is your cross?  What are the burdens, failures, and shortcoming you need to embrace, so you can experience the grace found in God’s goodness?  Trust that your weakness is the means God uses to help you die to yourself and discover your life in Him.

let's pray
as
one.

Lord, help me to recognize and embrace my imperfections.  I hide them from everyone, and sometimes even myself.  Strengthen me to not hide from them, but to accept them and recognize that is where God is growing me and inviting me to lay down my life.   When I am weary and burdened, give me your rest.   Help me to follow your example of embracing weakness, so I can know you and experience your grace.  In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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