Take up your cross and follow me

"Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9: 23 - 24)

The Church teaches that the cross is the ladder to heaven. (CCC 618)  This is not an easy saying.  The cross comes to us through the ordinary pathways of life: Health, Family, Finances, Job, Tools/Property, Food and Future.  Each of these can be a blessing or a cross at anytime.  It is impossible to pick up one end of the stick without picking up the other.  The cross comes with the territory of life.

How do we pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus?  We read and accept the word of God on the inevitability of the cross in life.  Through prayer, we prepare for all the surprises of life.  When the cross appears, we use the tool of prayer to deal with the situation.  We ask God for help.