Daily Inspiration

“Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.”  -Mark 8:34-38
 
Jesus gives us the map and shows us the Way to the Father, but many resist following His directions. He tells us the divine path does not lead to temporal success and reward; it leads to eternal life. If we ask the questions, ‘Why me?’ or ‘Why is there suffering?’ we fail to understand that inside our suffering, Jesus gives us a crutch to help us walk that narrow road. 
 
Jesus tells us no profit in this world is worth even a fraction of a soul’s value. He wants us to understand the Father does not place hardships in our path; He places blessings in the hardships, turning hardship into our cross. 
 
When we deny ourselves, our perception changes; we see our cross not as a burden but as a walking stick on which we lean. The divine path is the narrow, bumpy road leading us to heaven's gates. Scattered about outside those gates, we will find every discarded, worn-down, battered cross used by the saints who entered the Father’s house before us.
 
Saint Peter Damian, pray for us.
 
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Jesus, I trust in you.