751 (CROSS/ SORROWS/ TRIALS/ STRENGTH)
«Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge
Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken» (Luke 18, 31-34).
These things, my brethren, happened
before Holy Pentecost, i.e. before the disciples received the
Holy Spirit.
This also happens today:
The
Cross of the
Lord (His
Passion) remains for many a
hidden and
unknown mystery…
Many are even
scandalized by the
“cross” that
the struggling Christians bear, carry with them and
endure while others consider as
foolishness… nonsense and
shame… (1 Cor. 1, 23)
But
for us, the
believers, the
Cross and the
reproaches (humiliations) of the Lord, i.e the
sufferings and
persecutions that we
Christians suffer, either from
men or from the
invisible enemy, are the
power of
God and
wisdom!!! (1 Cor. 1:24).
Let us
not be
discouraged, then, my brothers and sisters, by the
temptations from within or without, by the
trials and
tribulations that
God’s love may
allow to
befall us…
This was also happening with the
holy martyrs…
For
us, the
poverty, the
cross and the
humiliations of
Christ, to which, by
God’s allowance we may be
subjected, even the seemingly
worldly “victories” of the
enemy against us,
remain (apart from
“God’s power and
wisdom”) triumphant and
glorious victories!!!
Therefore:
“Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this day forward and for evermore”.
“Let us stand well, let us stand with God’s fear!”
“If God is with us, who can stand against with us?”
Let
us therefore
rejoice always and be
strong and
mighty in the
Lord!!! (Eph. 6:10)
Let this be done!