Meditation For The Third Sunday After Easter

JESUS FOREWARNS HIS APOSTLES THAT TRIBULATIONS SHALL BE THEIR LOT

“Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16, 20).

First Prelude: Behold our Divine Lord in the company of His disciples.

Second Prelude: Pray the Lord to teach you how to despise whatever does not tend toward Him.

First Point

THE PORTION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD IN THIS LIFE

About to leave His disciples, Jesus bequeathed to them privations, persecutions, and manifold sufferings. “You shall lament and weep but the world shall rejoice.”

How soon were the Apostles to experience the truth of these words! Their whole life, as it were, was an unbroken chain of trials, privations, and sacrifices, which they shouldered for the love of Jesus. Their fate is shared by all true servants of God, for they, too, must bear the imprint of the cross, the mark of their election. Such a life is exceedingly precious in the eyes of God, but mere folly in the eyes of the world, which judges only from appearances. Our Divine Saviour wills to sweeten every suffering borne for love of Him with the hidden Manna of the unspeakable divine consolations. Was this not the sweetness the Apostle tasted when he said: “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 7, 4)?

Attracted by this Manna, thousands choose the cross of religious life, of penance and the combat of their passions,—subject themselves to the hardships and discomforts found in the care of the infirm and the education of Christ’s little ones. The greater their magnanimity in embracing the cross, the greater their share in the glory and the happiness Christ promised when He said: “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5, 5). How grateful should we be to the Holy Ghost for having given us grace to realize the vanity of the world and the happiness of the children of God! Let us beg Him for generosity in the service of God!

Second Point

JESUS ENCOURAGES HIS DISCIPLES BY HOLDING OUT TO THEM THE ETERNAL REWARD

Having announced to the Apostles the tribulations that would fall to their lot, Jesus said to them: “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy. I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you” (John 16, 22). Immeasurable, eternal joys are in store for the loyal followers of Christ. An imperishable crown shall be their portion in His Father’s kingdom. There shall be neither tribulation nor sorrow, and all labors, all hardships and sacrifices shall find their just reward. Our Lord calls the time of probation for the just “a little while” and the Apostle observes that it is, indeed, momentary when compared with the eternal, all-surpassing glory.

Should these thoughts, which are grounded in our holy faith, not urge us on to the most heroic sacrifices? Even in religion we may experience dark hours in which the thought of heaven alone can sustain us. Let us, therefore, seek to penetrate more deeply into the mystery of the cross, that by the daily practice of mortification we may wax strong for greater burdens and sacrifices.

Affections: I thank Thee, O my Divine Saviour, for the light of Thy grace in which I have realized the value of sufferings and trials. Even here below tears shed for Thy sake are mingled with much sweetness, and promise to bear fruits of eternal joy. Confirm in us ever more the hope of the eternal, imperishable heritage,—the fruit of Thy passion—that neither labors, nor fatigue, neither sufferings nor sorrow and disgrace, can shatter our courage, or disturb our peace of soul. O my Jesus, replenish our hearts with so generous and powerful a love as burned in the hearts of Thy Apostles and martyrs, that we may endure the sorrows of this present life not only with resignation, but with a holy joy, deeming ourselves happy to bear closer resemblance with Thee, our Divine Model.

Resolution: We will unite our sufferings with those of Jesus and bear them cheerfully for love of Him.

Spiritual Bouquet: "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy."

Prayer: O Jesus, living in Mary . . .