Do This in Memory of Me: Endure Sorrow

By: Laura Catherine Worhacz

“Saint Joseph endured them (sorrows) in silence, humility, and love, neither having nor desiring any human consolation. He suffered, not for himself, but for Jesus, for Mary, for the world, for us. Blessed suffering that united him to the redemptive work of the Savior.” - Saint Peter Julian Eymard (Eymard Library, Volume 8, page 80)
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Dearest Eucharistic Family,

In this year of Saint Joseph, we look to him for all God has blessed him with in his relationship to Jesus in the way of grace. Ash Wednesday is a few days away, our entrance into the desert with Jesus.  It is a time for us to long to grow in and learn the wisdom of God. Our docility to the Holy Spirit, the embrace of the Cross and the sorrows of life, form us into the mystery of salvation. We suffer, “Resist him and be firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering” (1 Peter 5: 9).

The reality of suffering, united to the redemptive work of the Savior, transforms everything into an offering of love. This is how Saint Joseph lived in love of the Son of God, in his love for the Mother of God, Mary, and his love for the mystery he lived. Much came to Saint Joseph in a dream!

There is much suffering. Our prayer list grows daily for the sick, the suffering, the dying. The pain is real and consolation is so far for many who are swept over with loss. Saint Joseph teaches us how to endure suffering in silence and humility, and for the love of Jesus. Enduring suffering, to embrace the Cross in this way will bring us to our resurrected life now through the Eucharist. Let us take some time to pray in the silence and go to the place that may be hidden in the depths, perhaps to a place that has been ignored rather than endured. A good cry and acceptance, offering to God all that you hold will both behold and endure the present sorrows. And like Saint Joseph it will allow us to be for the world an offering of praise to our Father in Heaven.