| Jesus Dresses as a Gardener to Show Us the Importance of Ordinary Mortifications |
The following reflection is taken from a section in the book Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journy, published by Sophia Institute Press.To prepare for our chat on Sunday, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena (1835), Public Domain Do not be anxious. Rouse yourself to serve the Lord with steadfastness, attentiveness, and meekness. That is the true way to serve him. If you can refrain from trying to do all things, but instead attempt to do only one thing, then you will do much. Practice the mortifications that most often present themselves to you, for that is the first duty to be done.After that you can take up the others. Lovingly kiss the crosses that our Lord himself lays upon your arms, without looking to see whether they are of precious or aromatic wood. They are more truly crosses when they are made of a wood that smells dirty and is considered useless. Mary Magdalene tried to hold on to our Lord; she wanted him for herself. His appearance was not as she had wished it to be, which is why she looked at him without recognizing him. She wanted to see him arrayed in glory, not in the common clothes of a gardener. Yet in the end she knew who it was when he said to her, “Mary” (John 20:14 -16). You see it is our Lord garbed as a gardener whom we meet day by day, here and there, in the ordinary mortifications that present themselves to us. We want more noble-seeming ones. But the ones that seem the most noble are not the best. Before we see him in his glory, he wants to plant many humble flowers in our garden, according to his plan. That is why he is dressed the way he is. Our task is to let our hearts be ever united to his, and our wills to his pleasure. Reflections: How can we learn to become less anxious?What are mortifications and how can we “practice” them?Why is it important to give our all to the Lord and yet not try to over do it? Is that a contradiction?How might we be failing to recognize the Lord in our day-to-day lives? How can we better recognize him?What kind of “humble” mortifications do we get at the hands of others? How can we accept them in the proper spirit?How can we let our spiritual gardens have more fertile soil? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time U.S. this Sunday |