Daily Inspiration

“Jesus said to his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
 by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” -Luke 9:22-25
 
The Lord always answers our prayers, but often, not in the way we expect. Recently, a friend asked why God chose suffering as the path back to Him. I didn’t have an answer, so I asked God to explain.
 
I asked, ‘Why suffering?’ and God answered, ‘Love…’ I replied, ‘You love us, and suffering is a part of that love, but why suffering?’ Again, He answered, ‘Because of the Fall.’ I pushed again, struggling to understand. ‘You love us even though we stole the fruit from the tree of good and evil; you love us even though You cast us from the garden, but, why suffering?’ 
 
He answered, ‘Because it lifts you up.’ Then He showed me Christ on the Cross and myself on a cross next to Him. I understood that suffering is the path back to the Father because it is the path Christ took. While we hang on our crosses, I saw Jesus on His, in our midst. Because of the fall, we are all thieves, yet in suffering, the Father allows us to choose which thief we are. We either choose to be the thief who lashes out and blasphemes Jesus, or we decide to be the thief who asks Jesus to remember us when He enters His Kingdom. How sweet it would be to hear Jesus say, “Amen, I say to you, this day you will be with me in paradise.” 
 
Saint Colette, pray for us.
 
Click on the link for the Daily Reading.
 
Jesus, I trust in you.