Among priests, we have this saying that says if we begin to think too highly of ourselves and begin to think of ourselves as kings in our own kingdom, then we need to go back to our roots and make a visit to our families. They will make sure that we are humbled. Parents who like to remind us that they changed our diapers and raised us from young remind us of who we really are. A man who has been called by God to be a priest - but first and foremost a man. Brothers and sisters can do the same. For me, I had one of those experiences recently when I went to my twin brother’s house to visit him. And lo behold my brother began to wrestle a bit with me. (Of course I’m never the one that starts it! : >) Now we didn’t roll on the ground or anything like that, but we played as if we were going to. Only a twin brother could do that with a priest. Could you imagine Gerardo or Deacon Lewis and I wrestling? Just would not be the same. Indeed family has a way to bring a person to who he really is.

In the Gospel today, Jesus went to his home town. He had already begun his ministry of healing the sick, performing miracles, and proclaiming His saving message. Of course, he would want to share this with the people he knew so well and so he went to his home town. There he met the people he grew up with: his neighbors, his cousins, half-brothers, half-sisters, etc. Incidentally, we read in the gospel that his brothers were there to greet him. The same greek word that is translated as brothers is the same word that refers to cousins, close friends, neighbors, etc. Anyhow, the people whom he had grown up with was there. When they heard him preach and saw the healings they could not believe. They saw the man and not the Son of God. They saw the boy they played soccer with and not the God - man who cured the sick. They saw the carpenter and not the savior of the world. With this Jesus said, A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." Unlike me who needs to be humbled by my relatives, Jesus’ relatives lack of belief was a point of great suffering for him. He was not able to do mighty deeds because of their lack of faith. They could not see - they could not believe.

Each day, we suffer. If Jesus suffered, why do you think that we would be spared from suffering. We can not escape suffering. Each day we encounter it. We may suffer physically. We all know someone or we are that someone who is well in years. The body is not what it used to be. Its starting to break down and oh how our legs hurt. Perhaps its not our legs but our back. One of our favorite things to do is to let other people know how much pain we are in. We love to tell others about our latest medical problem. We cry to God - take this suffering from me.

Maybe the suffering is not physical but comes from a sense of worry or anxiety. We worry about so many things, about our children, what this person is going to say, or what is going to happen with our job. We worry about all of these things. We have anxieties and we cry out to God - take this away.

Maybe our suffering is from a sense of our own lonliness. Maybe we feel like God is far from us and that he is not near. Maybe we feel like the person we have been married to doesnt know us. Perhaps this lonliness is increased because our husband died or our girlfriend has left us. Perhaps we feel all alone because our parents are getting divorced and we feel like our dad has abandoned us. We all have at times experienced this lonliness and this suffering is great. In the midst of this we cry to God- take this away.

In the 2nd reading St. Paul talks about his own suffering.

We hear him talk about this thorn in his flesh. Now scholars dont know exactly what this thorn in the flesh was. Some will say that it was a person in his life that was persecuting him or causing him pain. Others will say that it is a moral or spiritual temptation, some would say that this thorn came from a physical suffering or injury that he bears.

Its not important to know what exactly was this suffering. The real point is that St. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ suffered, he begged God for relief, God answered, and St. Paul responded. You can hear St. Paul cry out three times - HELP ME! Incidentally, numbers are real important in scripture. Three is the number for many times. So St. Paul did not jus cry out three times but many times to God about this point of suffering. What was God’s response? He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” God said basically I’m not going to take this suffering from you.

I dont know about you, but if you are like me, I have asked God so many times to remove suffering and most of the times he answers like he answered St. Paul. Yes occassionally, he may relieve the pain. I remember in seminary when I was real anxious and worried and I presented the situation to God in the chapel and instantly was flooded with peace. But for every one of those times there are hundred of times when Jesus basically says, “Jason, I will be with you in the suffering, you will not bear it alone.”

You see my friends God leaves us some suffering so that a greater good can come from it. Do you believe this? Do you believe that God can make good out of your suffering? I remember a young man in seminary who is now a priest. He told me about his journey. He said that he was a good baseball player when he went back to catch a fly ball. In the process of catching it, he ran into another player and shattered his leg and knee in a variety of places. He would never be able to play baseball again. Talk about suffering. Well this man said to me that that was a moment of grace. At that moment he began to experience grace. Grace entered his life and he began to see how he needed God in his weakness. This new journey led him to the seminary and eventually the priesthood. God made good out of his suffering.

Its hard to believe that he will make good out of our weaknesses and sufferings. Sometimes we feel the suffering is too much. We dont want to experience it anymore. If God is not going to take it away we are going to try to escape it in our own ways. So for some people they run to alcohol, drinking away the pain. Others take drugs. Some go shopping trying to fill the void in their lives with things. Others get entranced into social media or games. Some make elaborate fantasies that they escape to. All of these things, we all know do not help us with the point of suffering. The suffering is still there when we get cleaned up or come back to reality.

What we really need to do is to enter into the suffering and offer it to Jesus on the Cross. Pope Benedict has reminded us recently that we need to bring back the old phrase to OFFER IT UP. Coaches love to remind their players - No pain - no gain. You have to offer up your ph

ysical discomfort for the sake of the team or personal growth. Well with our sufferings its something similar. We have to offer up to Jesus on the cross our sufferings and hurts. Jesus knows what it is like to have his legs hurt. Jesus knows what its like to be alone. Remember - he said on the cross, “Father why have you abandoned me.” Jesus Christ knows what it is to suffer. He suffered for us. When we lift our weakness to him on the cross we are allowing his suffering to be united with ours. We then can make our suffering a prayer through and in His suffering. Our discomforts than can bring about good for ourselves or those in our own lives.

Now, my friends I dont want you to go out an start looking for ways to suffer. Dont try to create ways to suffer. We have enough suffering in our own lives. And there is some suffering that is not necessary. If there is abuse: physical, sexual, or emotional - this is unnecessary suffering and no one should endure that. But the other small things, we encounter all the times and are able to lift them up to God.

My friends this is the real story of Christianity. We have a God that so loves us that He took suffering on his back. He comes so that we don’t escape from our own suffering but so that we may allow him to carry ours. When we allow him to do so, it becomes a mighty prayer. Then we will be able to say with St. Paul, “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”