Persevere through the trials

Be sure you READ and/or LISTEN to the Mass readings for today! There is no better way to get your day going, or pick you up in the middle of the day than being in The Word!

In todays Gospel reading, Luke starts us out with a 4 of the Beatitudes...."blessed are you" and ends with 4 "woes."

I don't know why only 4 are chosen, but it makes them more bite size and manageable for me to really think and meditate on.

This gospel immediately makes me think of James 1:2-4 "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

We will absolutely have hard times in this world! It is in the hard times, when we are struggling, that we can truly cling to and find Jesus. It is through trials and challenges that our faith can grow and we can be complete. This idea of being complete can only come from Jesus.

Luke 6:23 begins "Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!"

We are being told to rejoice and leap for joy right after we are told we are blessed for suffering! We can rejoice and leap for joy because we are promised that after all the suffering and pain in this life we will find total and complete fulfillment in Heaven.

1 Peter 1:6-9 has a similar message. "In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even through tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of [your] faith, the salvation of your souls."

All of these passages are telling us that there is hope and joy in struggle. We have our hope because we know that our struggle is not in vain and we know our struggle is strengthening us and drawing us closer to God.

We have hope because of the promise that this pain is temporary and we will be rewarded for having to suffer it.

This is so hard because even though we may intellectually understand this, living it is a challenge! It helps me to focus on and remember those challenging times in my life that I came out a better person. It helps when I reflect on how much greater the reward was when it was worked for and that I had to suffer to attain it. These small moments can give me strength and keep me pointed in the right direction. They are also encouraging because the rewards we will receive when we are done on this Earth will far surpass anything our hearts and minds could ever dream up!