What Catholics Know

I spent my entire childhood in rural Iowa. For that matter, I lived a great deal of my adult life there as well. Both of my grandfathers were farmers, as were their fathers, and so on.

I probably heard the term work ethic many times before I actually knew what it meant. In my family, you worked hard, you worked together as a family unit, and you were proud of what you accomplished.

As Catholic Christians, we have a strong work ethic. We know how important it is to give our yes to God. To accept the work the Lord has given to us. To work in tandem with grace.

We also know how to pick up our crosses. Cradle Catholics know how to do this. They have journeyed through many Lenten seasons. Their mothers would nurse them through illness and mend them after injury, always reminding them to offer it up. Offer to God all that you must endure, offer it for another, offer it as reparation, offer it in love.

It is only speculation, but I suspect that Catholics weather tough times better than most. I would bet that they have a resiliency that is stronger than almost any other group.

I remember hearing a sad story when I was Baptist. One Sunday, a family in the church went for a Sunday afternoon outing. That evening, they drove back to St. Louis, to attend Sunday evening services. They were involved in a terrible accident. The wife and all the children were killed. Only the husband survived.

Immediately, I wondered about that husband. How could he go on? How would he have the strength to bear such a terrible burden? Some time later, that father took his own life. He simply didn't see how he could carry on.

After I became Catholic, I started to notice a particular strength in Catholics. They seemed to have a better handle on suffering. They had a plan. An approach. They seemed to know what they must do when trials come - they seemed able to draw from a deep well of divine strength.

In short, they knew what to do when they encountered the cross. They got on their knees and prayed for sufficient grace. And then they picked up that cross and started moving forward. Even when they faced tragedy as terrible as the Baptist father in the story above.

I cannot say that I am there yet. I am very much like an elementary student in this school of suffering. But I trust. . .

Jesus, I trust in You.

Help me to remember what I have seen. Give me the wisdom to get on my knees and pray. And give me the strength to pick up my cross and start moving forward - no matter how heavy the cross may be.

What Catholics Know