Back in the day, telling people to 'Offer it up' was a common practice. I'm sure some of you remember your grandma telling you to 'offer it up' when something frustrated you or when you didn't get your way or maybe you heard her offering a prayer when she was stuck in traffic and growing impatient. You don't hear it much these days but maybe we can make it popular again. It is a phrase that I believe summarizes the essence of Catholicism; for as Catholics we believe suffering is a good thing (not easy but good). It is a gift from God to sanctify our hearts just as gold is purified in fire. Consciously offering up your trials and uniting them to God's Will is the way of the cross. 

The Cross is the unique sacrifice of Jesus who offered up His Life for our salvation and He commands that we take up or cross and follow Him. In His incarnate divine person He has united Himself to man and through the cross we were given the possibility of being made partners with Him, as members of His mystical body, in bringing about salvation for souls through the mystery of redemptive suffering. In Colossians 1:29, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body, which is the church, St. Paul clearly teaches us about the reality of redemptive suffering. 

 In most of our Blessed Mother's apparitions, particularly at Fatima, she repeatedly reminded us of this mysterious participation in suffering. The three visionaries who received her messages were called to live the rest of their lives offering up acts of reparation for sinners. In a modern-day apparition, Our Lady comes to a visionary named Maureen as Refuge of Holy Love and Protectress of the Faith. Through her on April 4, 1998 she offered us a meditation on the passion of our Lord that goes like this: "Jesus was willingly put to death for the sins of mankind. He died for each one and for all. From His side flows still today an unending font of Love and Mercy. Do not be reluctant as Simon was reluctant to embrace the crosses you are given. Many suffer the flames of eternal hell for no one has been willing to suffer for them. Eternal Victim, truly present in the tabernacles of the world, pray for us." Another meditation she gives us on her sorrows is this: "As my son suffered for you, I suffered as well, in my intellect, in my heart, and in my body. My physical cross remained hidden. My emotional and intellectual crosses could only be guessed at-the intensity burning within me, so too should your suffering remain hidden, when possible, to gain merit for souls and grace for the world." 

The Church has long recognized that some of the baptized are called to a vocation of redemptive suffering to a very high degree. St Padre Pio and St. Faustina are but a few of these 'victim souls' but for the rest of us who are not called to such extremes the Lord delights and uses our heartfelt offering up of the everyday trials He permits in our lives. The daily offering of our prayers, works, joys, longings, sorrows and sufferings is what all Catholics are called to do. In fact, it is possible, with God's grace, to embrace our crosses with joy because we experience how profoundly God can work through the unpleasant surprises, setbacks, failures, frustrations and hurts that come our way. By offering things up, united to Christ, we trust that God Our Father will bring about good somewhere else in the mystical body. Simultaneously, He will turn our crosses, big or small, into opportunities for personal holiness, so let us follow our Lord and offer it up!    

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