We have no right to mutely point to the cross and let other people hang there alone. All humans must suffer, but all humans must also help each other bear that suffering.
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Image: Detail of Fifth Station of the Cross by Sieger Koder, “Folly of God” series
Walking in the shadow of the bearer of the cross is already some help.
This was exactly what I needed to read today.
Thank you <3
What should one do if one has no catholic or christian friends? How should one bear this cross? Just saying get some friends won’t do as i haven’t managed to achieve that in the past years as a catholic. Another related thing doesn’t Jesus get fed up after asking him the same thing for years? That sort of excludes Him as a solution too.
So the final question how does one carry onea cross all alone without any help?
I don’t have very many Catholics friends in real life, and I used to have none. Some of my best friends are people I interact with online. There are many drawbacks of social media, but it can also be a place to make real, lasting friends.
No, Jesus doesn’t get fed up. I don’t want to be glib and say “just keep asking,” and I am very sorry to hear that you feel alone. As I was writing, I realized that feeling alone is a cross in itself, and I didn’t mean to gloss over that. I do know that I sometimes find peace if I stop asking God for answers and solutions, and just consistently offer something up to Him, without even knowing what I’m hoping to gain from that.
Thank you especially for that last point. God is our Comforter, but it is so easy to know that and think of Him as some kindly but stoic being that’s beyond things like being upset Himself. Which can then lead us to think that He only really understands us and our sufferings in an academic sense. Which can then lead us to think He’s just waiting for us to get over them. Which isn’t really comforting at all.
Bear the Cross for Christ for the salvation of souls.