Carrying our cross in the 21st century - A Fresh Perspective

After mass today, I spoke with a friend. In usual fashion he asked me how mass was and my first response was how we only took two readings instead of three and we didn't even take the psalm at all. 

After I hung up I realized I had not even mentioned how I enjoyed the homily and how the songs we sang were wonderful. I was also enthralled by the way the pianist played, I thoroughly enjoyed it. My fixation on the missing form made me miss the substance of everything else. 

So since I missed that opportunity, I would like to share what I took out of mass today, or perhaps I should say my God experiences today. But before I do that, let me just mention that everyday I remind myself that I encounter God in three dimensions - in people, in the word and in the Eucharist; and I remind myself never to miss any opportunity to encounter him in all or at least most of these ways.

So what were my God experiences today

1. People: As I walked to church today, I went through a park and saw a young girl playing ball with her dad. It struck me how much patience, understanding and dedication it takes for an adult to play ball with a little child and this image brought to my mind how God is with us. It doesn't matter the time; if we want to he is up to it and he will give it infinite percent (100% cannot be used for God because he neither exists in time or space). 
2. The word: One recurrent phrase the priest repeated in his homily today based on Matthew 10:38-42 was total commitment. You see when Jesus says neither father, mother, brother, sister or spouse should be placed above him, it's all about our commitment. Our commitment to God should drive and influence our relationship with others and not the other way round. God FIRST.
3. The Eucharist: When we celebrate the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, we remember the sacrifice of the cross, that selfless giving of our Lord Jesus Christ to win salvation for all. In turn he invites us to take up our crosses and follow him. Some of us are clear on our individual crosses -sick family members we need to take care of, challenging financial situations, seeming lack of progress despite how hard we work and pray. These are all crosses. But for some of us, our crosses may not be so obvious. Today we were reminded that 'Acts of Service' are also crosses we need to carry. Service to the poor, needy, hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, sick and imprisoned; these acts of service for the most part require a level of selflessness and are also crosses that we must carry. The church calls them corporal acts of mercy and these can be found in Matthew 25:31-46. 

As of 2015, it is estimated that 1 in 7 people do not have food to eat. That number easily doubles when we consider how many people have access to clean drinking water. And on and on it goes. The most visible crosses are on the streets and we pass them by as we go about our daily activities. They may not have been thrust upon us but let's not ignore to carry them whenever we encounter them.

God bless us all.