The readings for today's Mass are very challenging. We hear what happened to Jeremiah when he spoke the truth in his day, and Jesus tells us, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. Rather, I have come to bring division..." Whereas when someone wants to convince us to buy something or to join them in some endeavor, they only tell us the positive things that we can obtain; Jesus puts it to us plainly: "Take up your cross, follow me, and you will live." Being a Christian means experiencing hardship, persecutions, divisions in our families (and even in our church), and perhaps even martyrdom. We are able to carry our cross today because we are promised eternal life with Christ in heaven. As the sacred author in the Letter to the Hebrews puts it, "Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ..."
