When Jesus admonishes: "Unless you take up your cross daily and follow me, you cannot be my disciple, he does not mean that we should literally find a cross and carry it, but that in choosing the will of the Father, as opposed to our own, we can thus follow him. It would be much easier to carry a wooden cross than it is to yield our wills to God, as manifested through the wills of our supervisors, spouses, codes of conduct, dress codes or laws of the land. Our free will is our most precious gift, and yet it can be the obstacle that keeps us from growing as God would have us grow. We are free to choose between life, and death, good and evil. Deuteronomy strongly urges us to "choose life." (cf. Dt ) It does not have to be as dramatic as that, but in the little choices we face daily...will I answer the phone when the ID indicates it will be a solicitation, or someone who will talk for a long time? Will I cave on some Lenten sacrifice I have promised to make? Will I spend "my" time listening to another who has come for advice? Will I follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to spend more time in prayer, even to go to a chapel and spend time in Adoration? Will we respond to an unplanned request that will throw "our" plan for the day out the window? These are the "crosses" we are challenged to take up daily. Focusing on a crucifix will help us make our choice.
Bro. Rene
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