The Cross

The cross makes the saint.  You cannot be a saint without the cross - both Christ's and your own.

In today's Gospel, it is pretty clear that the yoke Jesus is talking about is the cross.

The bike trip to Rome was, all things considered, a success.  Despite theft twice and the challenge of traveling across the continent of Europe (including those terrible Alpine mountains) Fr. Bill arrived safely (as did I, though I only did about a sixth of the distance).  Now, there's a lot of ways to get to Rome, but this pilgrimage group did not choose trains, planes, or automobiles, but bikes.  For the seven of us, the only way to our goal was a bicycle.  As far as Fr. Bill was concerned, when his bike was stolen, he had no choice but to get a replacement (with the help of insurance) and see this journey through.

Today, Jesus gently points out to us what our vehicle to heaven will be: His "yoke", that is, this Cross.  This is our way to heaven.  There is no other way, and if we think we can sneak around it, the Cross will somehow find us!  Suffering is unavoidable, especially when sitting on a bike seat for 5 hours a day and climbing a hill for an hour straight or even longer.  But even in a regular day, we find suffering.  This doesn't mean despair and defeat - it means salvation and victory. Why? How? 

Because, thanks to Jesus' perfect sacrifice, the Cross now brings healing and eternal life.  Suffering finds us be