Our life on earth is a “vale of tears”. We know this. In the Hail Holy Queen prayer (the Salve Regina), we pray, addressing our Dear Mother Mary: “to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears”.

So, we must expect Crosses.

• In fact, we must expect God to send us Crosses every day.

  
  

• Not only that, we must not simply tolerate the Crosses that are being placed on our shoulder but we must actively grasp those Crosses that God sends to us.

Here is one way Our Lord teaches us this truth:

If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.¹

So, Crosses are inevitable. However, Crosses are truly a great gift from God and are more precious than we can fully understand! As we will see below, God sends Crosses to us for our benefit and to help us. We should rejoice in this help!

In St. John’s Gospel, Our Lord gives the parable of the vine, the husbandman, and the branches. Here are Our Lord’s words:

I am the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away. And every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

If anyone abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. In this is My Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become My disciples.²

Commenting on this parable, St. Thomas Aquinas, Greatest Doctor of the Church,³ explains how Our Lord helps the good branches. Here are St. Thomas’ words:

[God’s] interest in the good branches is to help them so they can bear more fruit. So, He says, “Every branch that bears fruit [My Father] prunes, that it may bear more fruit.⁴

St. Thomas then explains what this pruning of the branches is:

Considering the literal sense, we see that a natural vine with branches that have many [i.e., superfluous] shoots bears less fruit, because the sap is spread out through all the shoots. Thus, the vinedresser prunes away the superfluous shoots so that the vine can bear more fruit.

It is the same with us. For if we are well-disposed and united to God, yet diffuse our love over many [i.e., superfluous] things, our virtue becomes weak and we become less able to do good. This is why, in order that we may bear fruit, God will frequently remove such obstacles [viz., our diffuse loves] and prune us by sending troubles and temptations, which make us stronger.

Accordingly, [Our Lord] says that [the Father] prunes, even though a person may be clean, for in this life no one is so clean that he does not need to be cleansed more and more: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8). And [the Father] does this so that [we] may bear more fruit, that is, grow in virtue, so that the more pruned or cleansed, the more fruitful a person is: “Let the just still be justified, and the holy still be sanctified” [Apoc. 22:11]; “The Gospel is bearing fruit and growing” (Col. 1:6); “They go from strength to [greater] strength” (Ps. 84:7).⁵

So, we see with our intellect that we should be grateful with our will, for the Crosses that God sends because He sends Crosses to help us. We should thank God with our whole heart (i.e., our will) even if we don’t “feel” grateful with our emotions.

These Crosses are precious and are an essential help to us that we may more abundantly bear the fruit of virtue.⁶

St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, teaches us the value of crosses in these words:

If God were to grant you the gift of raising the dead, He would be giving you much less than when He permits you to suffer.  In fact, with the gift of miracles He makes you His debtor, but with sufferings He makes Himself your debtor.⁷

Conclusion

So let us be grateful for our Crosses and earnestly thank God for each one as soon as He sends it!

Let us carry our Crosses willingly and even joyfully, knowing that they are precious and are God’s helps so that we grow in virtue!