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The comforts which surround the rich
man, prevent him from giving his all to
God. The shut-in is not so endangered.
He is sealed off from sense-appeals
and earthly attractions and is more
likely to place his hope and affections
on the everlasting happiness which
has been promised to him in Heaven.
The very sufferings you
endure can be turned into
the golden rungs of a ladder
by which you can climb
swiftly and surely without
any detours into one of the
highest places in Heaven.
God has not only taken
you out of the way of the
world’s temptations, but
He has actually laid upon
your shoulders with His
own blessed hands the
particular cross which He
wants you to bear so that
you can follow His sacred
footsteps along the one true path that
leads to the eternal happiness of Heaven.
He has placed His own special benediction
upon the various sufferings He
has asked you to bear, for behold your
reward is great in Heaven. St. Louis of France tells us, “I thank
God more that He gave me patience
during my captivity than if He had
given me power to rule the world.”
Your loving Father has not only kept
you away from all the dangerous
temptations of the world but with
His own wounded Hands He has laid
upon your shoulders the cross by
means of which you can follow in His
footsteps right into the Kingdom of
Heaven itself.
YOUR CROSS IS
A SIGN OF HIS LOVE!
In addition to the offering up of your
sufferings by which each one of you
can be carried to a high degree of
sanctity, there is another apostolate open
to you: The Apostolate of the Way of the
Cross. By holding a specially blessed
Crucifix and making the Way of the
Cross, you may gain thousands of
plenary indulgences for the souls in
Purgatory. Those souls will be grateful to
you and they will carry your petitions
to the Son of God in whose eternal
presence they will be, due
to your generous prayers.
The long hours you have
to endure in solitude can
become wasteful and
dreadfully tedious hours
if you allow yourself to lie
or sit there with nothing
else to do but brood over
your helplessness and what
you consider your weakness
before God and man. Once
you begin to realize what
a privileged person you are,
then every single minute of
your day will be filled with
the thrill of knowing what
you can do in the service
of God and for the salvation of others.
These wonderful opportunities are yours
through God’s goodness and mercy!
May you continually use your sufferings
and the long lonely hours which are
at your disposal to further the cause
of God’s Church in helping to bring
millions into the Kingdom of Heaven.
What a day it will be for you when you
are finally ushered into that Kingdom
to be surrounded by the gratitude of all
those you have helped while on earth!
“To Suffer with Christ is to Reign!”
St. Térèse of the Child Jesus