Read Online
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their
sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And
blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Matthew
11:4–6
Suppose a priest came to your church to put on a parish mission,
and during that mission he miraculously healed the blind, crippled,
terminally ill, and deaf. What if he even raised the dead to life?
How would you respond? Most likely with amazement! You’d contact
everyone close to you and tell them about those miracles,
encouraging them to attend the next session.
Though Jesus’ ministry was filled with miracles, they were far from
the most important part of His mission. His miracles healed bodies
that would eventually die, but His preaching healed souls that
would live forever because His preaching ultimately pointed to His
greatest work—to suffer and die for the salvation of souls.
If you were alive as Jesus walked the earth, performed miracles,
preached the Good News, suffered death, and rose again, which of
His actions would have had the greatest effect on you? When we
consider our Lord’s mission, we must consider it all as one unified
whole, not missing the most important aspects. From a faith
perspective, Jesus’ suffering, death, and Resurrection are clearly
His greatest acts. By freely embracing suffering and death, He
transformed the worst into the best: the consequence of sin—which
is death—into the instrument of eternal life. When Jesus said, “And
blessed is the one who takes no offense at me,” He was identifying
those as blessed who discovered the great value of His Cross.
If we were to ask Jesus’ first followers whether they would prefer
to see Jesus perform miracles or suffer and die, most likely they
would prefer the miracles. Such a question might have even left
them confused. Why would anyone want to see a great prophet suffer
and die? Yet, today, from a theological perspective, it is clear
that Jesus’ suffering, death, and Resurrection are the greatest
acts in human history.
Imagine being our Blessed Mother who witnessed it all, stood by her
Son as He endured His Cross, and rejoiced with Him when He rose.
Unquestionably, if we asked our Blessed Mother whether she
preferred to see a few miracles from her Son or to witness His
perfect sacrifice that brought salvation to the world, her holy and
sorrowful heart would choose the latter.
Reflect today on these questions within the context of your own
life. When you pray, do you primarily ask for favors, blessings, or
miracles? Or do you primarily pray for the Cross? Do you see
greater value in having God remove some suffering from your life or
in transforming your suffering by the power of His Cross? Ask for
the grace to die with our Lord, to become a living sacrifice of
love, and to have the strength to lay down your life for others. By
choosing that which has eternal value, you choose the better part
and will rejoice in that better part forever.
My sacrificial Lord, You invite me to take no offense at Your
suffering and death; to see beyond the pain, blood, and physical
death; and to discover the unfathomable riches of Your Sacrifice.
Please give me the eyes of faith to see the value of not only
accepting Your Cross, but also to see the value of living Your
Passion in my own life by laying down my life with You. Jesus, I
trust in You.
Image via Adobe Stock
Source of content:
catholic-daily-reflections.com
Copyright 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved.
Used with permission via RSS feed.
Kommentare (0)
Melde dich an, um einen Kommentar zu schreiben.