The Cross - We Die For It

Beads of Joy 06-01-10

The Cross - We Die For It
©2010 James Dacey, Jr. SFO

The Cross 2/5
Hello Everyone,

Don't let the title scare you. When we die for the Cross of Christ, we die to self. We die to the selfish worldly things that keep us from God. It is those things that have nothing to do with God, or our eternity in Heaven or with Jesus that we need to let die in our lives. Let us not allow anything of no value, be the cause of us to die and receive nothing of value in return; by missing the chance to be in eternal Heaven with Jesus. The death I speak of today is the same peaceful death Jesus speaks of. "Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43. There He said it! Now that's what we are talking about. Jesus comforted this sinner on the very day that he would die. Just like that for us, Jesus comforts us, in preparation for our death. The love our Lord has for us is immeasurable, He loved us long before we ever loved Him. And He died for us long before we chose to die to ourselves for Him. So in this death for the cross that I speak of today, we are able to live a life that don't allow the distractions of this world keep us from Jesus.

We do not want to "gain" this world. What I mean by that is this; yes we want to be productive members in society, working and participating in helping others; raising a family, and have some pleasures of fellowship with people who believe and feel the same way about Jesus and our Blessed Mother as we do. We also want to pray for all those who despise and hate us, and may even want to destroy us. That's Ok, that so many don't understand, or they refuse to. You know that's why we are here, to do all we can to save their souls for Heaven. God is not like us, many people who have those they hate, or enemies as some label them, refuse to pray for them, and do not want them to be in Heaven for all eternity. I see it differently, we need to be stewards of the Cross, we need to share the joy we have in embracing the Cross and dying for the Cross. Will we capture every ones soul we talk to? Probably not, but maybe, just maybe, the next person will, and by what you said today, may grow tomorrow. Die for this Cross today, never allow the ways of this world to convince you otherwise. Jesus Christ died on that Cross, not so we can wear a pretty gold one around our neck, but rather so we to can join Him and be a loyal devout follower and do the same as He did.

He died to the ways of this world when He was crucified, to save you and me. We to must die to the ways of this world, and allow Him to use us to draw others to Him. This world is full of selfishness and pride, two of the most deceitful, misleading words that get entwined into so many things that destroy people. Look at the subtle world we live in, "I'm so proud of what I have done.", "This is me time, I'm doing this for me.", "I'm not waiting on that line, let's split this so it looks like we have two orders less than 20 items." Come one everybody, who are we fooling, we all do it, but we do it in such a subtle way that we accept it. We need to change how we live and be so much more like Jesus. Start letting people in front of you online, give that parking spot the other car that raced you to the front spot, offer to pay for something the person in line in front of you had to put back because they didn't have enough money. JUST DO IT, don't analysis it, don't write it down, don't even tell everyone, JUST DO IT. Not for your ego, but as a sacrifice offered up to Jesus. Random kindness is mind-boggling, the other persons reaction is awesome; they almost don't know how to react when someone is kind. The more of us that do that, the better world we will be living in.

Am I too bold to make such a suggestion? NO, at least I don't think so. We as Catholics know that many of us say, "What would Jesus do? WWJD" right. So let's take that to the next level and outside the box, and JUST DO IT. Jesus loves everybody, even bad people, even those hated by others; He didn't only love them when they got converted or repented, or saved. He loves them always. So must we !!! Let us seriously die to the Cross, the Cross that Jesus has died on for us. So today I ask you to take up the challenge that has developed in this blog. Kindness, it's not a word that only sounds good, it's an action that needs to be frequently done. Try one a day randomly. In whatever capacity that works for you. Let's say you can't get out, maybe a vehicle situation keeps you home, or your health. Then here's an idea. Send a kind letter to someone, or even easier, a kind word in an email, just bring JOY into someones life with Kindness in your words. Praise someone, maybe a neighbor who helped you in the yard, or on your porch. The list is endless, be creative. Make it your mission to do more each day if you can. That is you dying to yourself and putting others first always. Pray about it, if you aren't sure, but don't forget JUST DO IT.


Your brother in Christ Jesus & His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr SFO