Suffering and Joy

In everyone's life, there always seems to be a mixture of pain and sorrow, suffering, and joy.  Joy doesn't seem to fit in with the other three ingredients, but reflecting this week on the enormous pain Jesus endured, his complete "emptying of self", followed by the joy of his resurrection, the basis for this optimistic combo becomes clear.  As Pope Francis pointed out in his Palm Sunday homily, "the Evil One" tries to convince us that suffering cannot be overcome, that it is our lot as humans and that's that.  Not so, says the Pope, Jesus has overcome all of this, and with him, so can we.  Pope Francis is setting the tone of fearless optimism in his energetic first 12 days as our Shepherd, with his every word and move inspiring us to walk, run, with him.  He will be going to Rio for World Youth Day, and I'm sure will touch those gathered in a very special way.  Who knows yet, what will transpire in between and after?  If we keep our eyes on him, we'll have a clearer picture of What Jesus Would Do, were he alive today.
If our focus is on anything this week, it should be on Jesus himself, not our own plans, our own wills, even our own Lenten promises and attempts at preparing for Easter.  Our best Lenten result would be to arrive at a deep joy based on a more loving relationship with Jesus, which far outweighs the "pain" of our sacrifices...so little in comparison with what Jesus underwent. Remembering that he did it all to show his love for us, should motivate a greater love of him.
Bro. Rene