Denver Catholic

6 APRIL 8-21, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese Planning Your Will and Special Gifts Personally – Leave a legacy of what matters to you most. Financially – Wisely manage the assets that God has entrusted to you, in full compliance with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Spiritually – Strengthen our parishes and our Catholic community through your charitable giving. The Catholic Foundation of Northern Colorado is here to help you plan your Will, including the opportunity for special gifts that you may not be able to create on your own. As Catholic faithful, we believe our earthly treasure is a gift from God, and we can give it a way to serve the greater good. Give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven. LUKE 12:33–34 www.TheCatholicFoundation.com giving@thecatholicfoundation.com Jean Finegan | 303.867.0613 Deacon Steve Stemper | 303.468.9885 BE HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL. (AGONY IN THE GARDEN) One of the most important things to do in your su• ering, both spir- itually and psychologi- cally, is to admit that you are su• ering. Be honest about how it makes you feel; fi ghting it causes even more inner pain. And God can only work with us in as much as we are honest with him. Jesus himself was honest about his emo- tional response to pain. In his Agony, he prayed before the Father, "May this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matt 26:39). He prayed this twice. He was not emo- tionally excited to su• er and die. Yet, even as he acknowledged this, he still submitted to what- ever the Father's will was for him. 6 ways to transform your su ering from Stations of the Cross BY THERESE AAKER H oly Week is a perfect time to refl ect on Jesus' su• ering and what his passion means to us in our own. We can't ever escape su• ering in this life, but because of his death, it has meaning. The Stations of the Cross in particular is a really prac- tical way to do this — we can re-live his experience and apply it to our lives. And if we're in a season of su• ering, there's a lot we can learn from him on how to su• er well. In learning to su• er well, we become more intimate with him as we unite our experience to his — and they become one. Here are six things we can learn about su• ering from the Stations of the Cross. REACH OUT OR ACCEPT HELP. (SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS) It's not easy to be vulnerable with others about your su• ering, to let them share in it with you. But doing so is not only a grace for you, but a grace for them, as it allows them the opportunity to love you. Reaching out for help, or accepting it when it is o• ered, is an act of charity, too. When Simon was forced by Roman sol- diers to help Jesus carry his cross, Jesus accepted that help. He accepted it from Veron- ica, who wiped his face, too. His vulnerability in his su• ering was their chance to love him, and because of it, Veronica became a saint and Simon's sons, Rufus and Alexander, became missionaries. ACCEPT YOUR SUFFERING. (JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS) Even if we're honest emotionally, accepting su• ering is a di• erent matter. Most of us fi ght it; we simply wish we weren't su• ering. Even daily annoyances are met with impatience. It's not easy, but accepting su• ering really does lighten it. It's still there, but it's no longer causing us more su• ering. Jesus didn't just say, "Okay, I guess I have no choice, so I'll take up this cross." He freely embraced his cross. His example to us is a call to do the same. We cannot change our su• ering, but we can change the way we respond to it. We can embrace our su• ering as coming from the heart of Jesus. 1 2 3

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