Burdens Shared Are Burdens Lightened

The feasts of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14th, and the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15th celebrate the Joy of the resurrection by and through remembering the passions of Jesus and Mary. While we recall the terrors of Christ's passion and death, and the agony of Mary's sufferings as His mother, we always have our eyes transfixed on the resurrection which fills the darkness and overcomes the dread with light and joy!

So often in life the sorrows we encounter overwhelm us. Joy feels far away and unattainable when we hear of illness, death, disease, poverty, loneliness, violence, abuse, neglect and an endless litany of horrible things we face daily. Life sometimes feels overwhelming, sad and lonely.

In these times most especially, we need to look to our relationships with one another to find strength, and the paths out of darkness toward joy. When we open ourselves up to others and trust enough to share our burdens, they immediately become lightened. Indeed, sharing our pain lightens it.

Can we imagine for a moment the pain of Jesus and Mary during Christ's passion and death? She never left His side. How devastating it must have been for a son to see his mother so pained and helpless in the face of his own agony. How crushing it must have been for Mary to witness the horrors of her Son's pain and death. Only love, only goodness born from that love was able to transform that awful darkness into light. It took just one look from Mother to Son, and so many unspoken words to see the Joy of a love that saved the world.

So often, the joy that we seek seems to be lost, but it is readily found in the hearts of those friends who help us to bear our burdens.










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