{"id":153152,"date":"2019-12-10T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T15:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-do-we-have-only-one-cross-in-our-lives\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:08:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T19:08:16","slug":"ask-a-priest-do-we-have-only-one-cross-in-our-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-do-we-have-only-one-cross-in-our-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ask a Priest: Do We Have Only One Cross in Our Lives?”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Q: I know that God gives each of us a tailor-made cross suited to each individual. I am wondering, do we have only one cross, or do we get many crosses through the course of our lives? And can our mistakes and wrong choices be used by God as our cross? \u2013 O.<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC<\/em><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0When we speak of our “cross,” we shouldn’t think of it as just one, discrete difficulty.<\/p>\n

The cross can comprise a range of things, just as it did for Christ. His suffering, for instance, wasn’t limited to the physical cross.<\/p>\n

Jesus’ passion and death included the agony in the garden, the betrayal by Judas, the abandonment by the apostles, the mocking by the guards, the humiliating treatment by Herod, the scourging, and more.<\/p>\n

We might have a particular cross that stands out — a disability or a troublesome child, for instance — but this is probably accompanied by others.<\/p>\n

Now, with the eyes of faith we can see a cross as an instrument for growth in holiness. Why? Because suffering can bring the best out of us. It can teach us humility, patience, sympathy for others, and reliance on God’s providence.<\/p>\n

In this sense, yes, God could use one of our mistakes to help us grow in holiness. The mistake can lead to a cross which in turn becomes a means toward holiness.<\/p>\n

An example might be a woman who has had an abortion. She later repents, but the sad memory of what she has done hangs over her. That sense of remorse, that “cross,” might motivate her to dedicate herself tirelessly to pro-life work, to helping other women avoid the same mistake she made.<\/p>\n

With God’s grace that woman can become a saint. Thus, her terrible mistake led to a cross which in turn propelled her to a life of selfless works — and a path toward holiness.<\/p>\n

Or, to restate this another way: Saying that God “gives each of us a tailor-made cross” has some value, but it should be qualified. We shouldn’t infer that the Almighty spends his time thinking of ways to make our lives difficult.<\/p>\n

Rather, sin brought suffering into the world, and God in his providence knows how to bring something good out of it.<\/p>\n

Each of us is unique. Our life situations are unique. Hence, our crosses are unique. And God can use all of this in a unique way to bring each of us closer to himself.<\/p>\n

For extra insight you might turn to our Retreat Guide, The Colors of the Cross<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keep learning more with Ask a Priest<\/a><\/h3>\n

Got a question? Need an answer?<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type in your question or send an email to AskAPriest@rcspiritual.wpenginepowered.com<\/a> and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything \u2013 liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events\u2026 Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/emcilmail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153152"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=153152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}