The Fruit of Sorrows

The tragedies of this world take on their full meaning when one looks at life from a realistic point of view... We should not struggle against what has been decided by God. Men are only instruments, and if this seems obscure to those living in the world, it is not so for those who must share in this work of mercy. Certainly, it is not easy, and we must endure a very painful ordeal, but with the trial come graces, and then sadness is turned into joy.

Believe me, Mama, there is no injustice willingly accepted that does not bear fruit a hundredfold, and receive its just reward, prodigal beyond our comprehension. Do not think that all the sorrows that have overwhelmed our family in recent years are useless. On the contrary, they are necessary, in order that just reparation may be made, and that through this the love of Christ may be given us in all its fullness. The law of life is that some pay for others, young branches full of sap are cut back and old, unproductive boughs left in their place. This seems unjust, and it would be, if compensation far outweighing anything life could offer were not given to these victims, who are by the very fact privileged. Joy, then, not sadness! If life is worth living and if you feel weary and exhausted to the point of death, it is because your soul is famished for the life-giving nourishment which will yield unending joy.

It is only recently that I have come to understand the meaning of the cross. It is at once prodigious and atrocious: prodigious because it gives us life, and atrocious because if we do not accept to be crucified all life is denied us. This is a great mystery, and blessed are the persecuted.

--Jacques Fesch

To Be a Disciple

As you daily provide food for your bodies to keep them from failing, so let your good works be the daily nourishment of your hearts. The body is fed with food, the spirit sustained with good works. You should not deny to your soul, which will live forever, what you grant to your body which is going to die. If ever a sudden fire destroys a dwelling, and its owner seizes what he values and flees, he counts as gain whatever he takes with him out of the flames. You can see that a fire of calamities is burning up the world, and the end, which is now near, is like a fire, laying waste everything in it that appeared delightful. Therefore, my friend believe it the greatest gain if you carry off anything from it, if you take anything with you as you flee, if, by bestowing it as an everlasting recompense on yourselves, you save what could have perished had it remained. In truth we lose all our earthly possessions if we save them, but we save them by yielding them well. Time is quickly running out. Let us prepare with haste for seeing our Judge soon; our good deeds are impelling us towards him with great urgency.

Saint Gregory the Great (died 604) was one of the most important popes and influential writers of the Middle Ages.

Luke 6:37-38

"Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."