MEDITATION TIP —
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 15, 2024

“Take up your cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34)

　There can be no Christian spirituality without the meditation on the Passion of Jesus. Traditionally, the Church has encouraged us to offer our daily sufferings to God. However, there are those around us who bear the same cross as we do, yet they live cheerfully, not even thinking of it as a cross. Many saints, too, carried great crosses, but they have lived cheerfully, without showing it to others. However, after they died, their writings and other documents revealed that they had actually borne heavy crosses during their lives. Jesus commands us to carry our own crosses, but He does not command us to be resigned and live with a sad, gloomy look on our faces.

　A butterfly goes from an egg, to a caterpillar, to a chrysalis, and then one day suddenly transforms into a beautiful butterfly that bears no resemblance to that caterpillar. The chrysalis is an important stage in the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. Similarly, for us the important chrysalis in which we reexamine and change ourselves is the cross, the ordeal, which is the “transubstantiation of our lives.” No matter what trials we face, we are given the potential to overcome them. No matter how difficult a problem may be, the key to overcoming it is in our own hands.

　Whether we go into a trial with a feeling of frustration and wonder why we are the ones to go through it, or whether we see it as some sort of opportunity, the outcome of the trial will be very different. The difference lies in how much we are able to say “thank you” for the ordeal. Some people may wonder why we say “thank you” when we are going through a trial, but by saying “thank you” for the trial, we are able to have a relaxed mind, and we are able to calmly look at the situation and reassess. When we say “thank you” for our trials, they are no longer a cross, but an opportunity for us to change our mindset and grow.

　The Paris Paralympics also left a lasting impression on us. However, athletes constantly live side by side with the risk of injury. For instance, figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu injured his right ankle three months before the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and was unable to practice for two months. Many doubted his participation and potential for medals, and thought that Hanyu’s days were numbered, and so on. However, he changed his mindset and used the two months he was unable to practice as “study time,” using the past footage to visualize his actual performance at the PyeongChang Olympics, and also carefully studied his treatment and rehabilitation methods. Then, at the Pyeongchang Olympics, he won his second consecutive gold medal, almost on the spur of the moment. Hanyu himself said, “If it had been smooth sailing, I would not have won the gold medal. I can say this with certainty.” He turned the ordeal of his injury into an opportunity by changing his mindset.

　We all come from different backgrounds and have different qualities, the only thing we have in common is time. We find infinite possibilities through time, but time is finite. The way we use time is the way we use life. Are we not living according to the same manual for decades, both individually and in our churches? We need a change of mindset. The cross reminds us of this.

 　　　　　(Contribution by Father Akabae)

I will be going overseas for training for about three months from September 16th. During that time, the meditation hints will be on hold. Please ask everyone to reread the previous meditation hints during that time. The next meditation hints will resume on December 15th, the Third Sunday of Advent. Fr. Akabae