The Easy Path 

   “There are no plains in the spiritual life.  We are either going uphill or coming down.”  (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen) 

   It’s so easy to become complacent; to get comfortable in our spiritual life and just kind of drift along.  But the Christian life isn’t intended to be easy, it takes strength and determination to walk the path God puts before us.

   There will be times of ease, and these times are a blessing.  But we shouldn’t expect that they will last.  The only lasting ease and peace will come in the next life.  In this life there will be times of sorrow, times of pain and suffering.

   Jesus very clearly told us that the life of a Christian will sometimes be difficult.  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9: 23).

   Our Blessed Mother gave us the example we are to follow.  She saw Jesus rejected, hated, abandoned by His closest friends, and finally scourged and hung on a cross to die.  Through it all, she persevered in love, faith, and hope, always trusting in the promises of Christ.  We are to do the same.

   Becoming satisfied with our spiritual life is a tool of Satan.  Comfort becomes expected and we quit striving for greater faith, hope, and love.  We cannot mount the heights by remaining in the valleys.  If we are not climbing spiritual hills and mountains, we are losing ground. 

The road is sometimes difficult.

But difficulty brings endurance.

Let me climb the holy mountain.

Let me reach the heights with You. 

Amen