Dear Friends in Christ,
As I was sorting through photos this past week, I came across a picture of my older brother as a toddler. His sweet face smiling at the camera warmed my heart. The second child of five, my brother was born in 1963 with Down Syndrome. When he was placed in my parent’s arms, they had no idea what kind of life he would have. For many years he brought joy to our family, but he also brought suffering.
“Pick up your cross and follow me” is hard enough when the cross you are carrying is personal; it is harder when the cross is laid across the shoulders of someone you love. So it was with my brother, his cross was our cross, and we carried it not out of duty, but out of love. So it was with the Blessed Mother, and so it is with every human who watches a loved one suffer.
It was love that moved God to send his Son to earth, and love not duty that moved the Son to suffer death on the Cross. Christians celebrate the cross, not because we enjoy suffering but because when we must suffer, we are reminded Jesus picked up his Cross out of love for us and changed the world forever.
Yours in the Heart of Jesus,
Donna
