Light

Day's Saints
James the Greater, Apostle
Bllessed Antonio of Olmedo, Mercedarian

Gospel Mt 20:20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
"What do you wish?"
She answered him,
"Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."
Jesus said in reply,
"You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

+

His light is warm.

Just as Jesus did not come to attend to every little pain we suffer, neither did He intend to prolong our suffering beyond what is reasonable, so that it is just that we ask for what we need in order to serve Him in our brothers and sisters. Ask, and you will receive, and if you were healed, be sure to give thanks and tell others so their faith might be strengthened as well.

There is humility in asking without demanding. Today is Tuesday and Tuesday, along with Friday, is a day of penance and fasting. Fasting, for a diabetic can be carried out without harm so long as it does not become obssessive. A good penance is to not mind that what you ask for was not granted, so long as you don't become a sourpuss.

I frequently have need of being reminded of His passion, and He bestows pain upon me as a gift for the sake of souls. There is little time in this world, and all eternity in Heaven, so that spending some time on others suffering for them, or suffering in their place (intercession) for the sake of the grace of salvation for our companions in life is a good thing.

Another penance is to pray the Rosary for the souls in purgatory. They will know it, and one day will repay your consideration with the blessings of the Lord.

As for the Lord, why should one not recall His sufferings? You cannot be sinning at the same time as your are penetrating the mystery of His passon sufferings. How could He not become more affectionate for your consideration in remembering him? As well as the souls in purgatory, we should remember one another, and call on one another for prayers to help our temptations and those moments which press us to the earth like the cross of Jesus when He fell the third time. Remember that He fell because of the magnitude of the wounds and condemnation He suffered on the way to the cross. Sink into every wound and be surrounded by them to lift the cross a little from His Body while He struggled to live until He died. Not one moment was omitted  until  He had suffered all the moments required by His agreement for our salvation through the passion-life He bore.

He has attended countless hours of our tedium and labor, all illnesses and disappointments, and the dire misery of those who have nothing but contempt for anyone who loves the Lord. Pray for them, because it will be difficult for them to be saved unless someone sticks up for them, no matter how contemptuous and indifferent they might have been. Jesus bore the cross for our sake, for all of us, good or bad. What others do with blessings offered them is hidden in the mystery of His merciful love. Let it not be said that we had no mercy in our hearts or did not care that He suffered grievous anguish until it was over. The day we are together with Him will engulf all our sorrows in His love until there is nothing more but love.