Twenty-Third Monday of Ordinary Time

I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his Body, which is the Church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.

Whenever we are suffering, we have the opportunity to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of the Church. This is not to say that Christ’s afflictions in his Life, Passion, and Death were incomplete, far from it! But rather that our sufferings can be united to his and bring salvation to others if we are willing to offer them up. Jesus died on the cross once and for all, but the manifestation of his saving grace is often brought to fruition through His Body, which is the Church. And we are members of that Church and therefore share in the call to make visible God’s Love and Divine Mercy. As Christians, we all have the vocation to offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of our fellow man.

Do we unite our sufferings with those of Christ? What do we think, say, and do in order to turn our afflictions into opportunities to accomplish God’s Will? How can we manifest the Life, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus in our daily lives?

O Lord, help us to turn our sufferings into gifts for you and graces for others.

Amen.