The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
In today’s readings, John, the beloved disciple, stands in awe of the fact that we have been given the gift of being called “the children of God”. Yet, he immediately offers encouragement to believers to persevere in what he knows to be a tough and, at times, suffering-filled life.
This is something my family can relate to- my wife has been suffering for months with constant symptoms related to her pregnancy journey. My inability to help her has frustrated me, and I have pled with God to give her some sort of relief from this suffering.
This week’s readings remind me that in His time on earth, Christ also found suffering along with rejection, frustration, and heartbreak. Many of us know this experience all too well. It is easy to believe that this suffering is all we will ever experience. But we must never forget that Christ also experienced the pain we experience. Gloriously, Christ promises the rewards of the kingdom of heaven itself! If we have “this hope based on Him” we will survive these times which will be replaced by limitless mercy, perfect love, and the radiant sight of God.
The hope of meeting the precious soul in my beautiful wife’s womb at the end of this season (confiando en Dios!) is an infinitely smaller, but apt foreshadowing of our hope in meeting God at the end of our life on this earth.
How will you change your mindset and embrace your suffering for the love of Christ this week?
Tomás Aguilar is a husband, dad, and Marine Corps Officer from Pennsylvania living just north of Jacksonville, Florida. He runs a page of weekly reflections geared towards encouraging men in their vocations of priest, husband, or layman called Sons of The Cross. Check out his personal Instagram to see his world travels, his beautifully pregnant wife, Natalye, and his attempts to find and imitate the face of Christ in everyday life.
