9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
has his difficulties and his trials. For one it may be poverty, sickness, or misfortune; for another
it may be professional or business reverses, the loss of property, family troubles, or the death
of a dear one. In these circumstances Christian charity must rule. Christian charity cannot
ignore the sufferings of others, or treat them with levity or indifference. Christian charity
looks upon the misfortunes of others as its own. It suffers with those who suffer; it seeks to
offer consolation and counsel. It seeks to lighten the weight of the cross on the shoulders
of its neighbor who is bowed down with his burden of sorrow. A sorrow shared is a sorrow
halved. What a splendid spectacle it would be if in our parishes, dioceses, and families, we
who call ourselves Christians could really rise to such a heroic level of charity. Such charity
requires a deep sympathy with the sufferings of others, an understanding heart, and a spirit
of self-sacrifice. Moreover, it requires a faith that can see Christ in each of its neighbors, in
the poor, the afflicted, the sorrowing, the sick, and the unfortunate. It requires that they keep
ever in mind the words of the Lord, “As long as you did it to one of these My least brethren,
you did it to Me” (Mt 25:40).
Christ Himself comes down upon the earth each day in order that He may share our needs,
our sufferings, our burdens, and our crosses. “Come to Me all ye that labor and are burdened,
and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). He comes to us daily in the Holy Sacrifice as our high priest
in order that He may assume our burdens, present them to the Father, and obtain from the
Father strength for us to bear our burdens faithfully and fruitfully, and thus win for ourselves
the rewards of eternal life. He comes to us in Holy Communion in order to arouse in us His
own sacrificial spirit and sacrificial power. Strengthened by His spirit, we are capable of bearing
our daily burdens and crosses, and of drinking the chalice which He drank (Mt 20:22). He
enlightens us from the cross, from the altar, and from the tabernacle. We must enter daily more
deeply into the mystery of His sufferings and learn the secret of suffering with Him, “yet so,
if we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him” (Rom 8:17). This is the law of
Christ: “Where I am, there also shall My minister be. If any man minister to Me, him will My
Father honor” ( Jn 12:26). Thus the Lord shares our burdens.
We believe in the mystery of the indwelling of God in our souls. The Holy Trinity dwells
with us and shares its divine life with us. The Holy Trinity operates in our souls that we may
progress in this union, and helps us bear our miseries, our burdens, our trials, and our never-ending
difficulties. But with each cross that is laid upon our shoulders, we receive added light
and strength to bear our crosses patiently. God Himself bears our burdens. If it were not so, how
could we bear the cross and sustain the difficulties and the trials of Christian life, the perfect life?
Since God so faithfully helps us bear our burdens, we should also bear one another’s burdens.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens”; thus you will fulfill the law of Christ. “If you keep My
commandments, you shall abide in My love; as I also have kept My Father’s commandments
and do abide in His love” ( Jn 15:10). And yet, where Christian charity is concerned, we fail most
frequently, even when our closest neighbors and friends should be the object of our charity.
We have no care whatever for the needs of strangers, no compassion on those who are poor
and hungry. As long as we suffer no want ourselves, we are content. We have hardly a word of
sympathy for those who are in need or in difficulties; we certainly have no time to assist them.
Are we, then, really “walking in the spirit”? Where is that faith that should cause us to see Christ
bearing His cross in each of our afflicted neighbors? “He that hath the substance of this world,
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