Meditations

Steadfastness in hope I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9 What relationship is there between what we do here on earth and what we hope for in heaven? The first Christians never stopped rejoicing at the sight of what they were hoping for, for at every moment they believed they were seeing heaven open before them. Suffering, disrepute, torture, cruel deaths, none of these had the power to dishearten them. They were intimately acquainted with God's infinite generosity in rewarding such sufferings, and they never thought they suffered enough. They were transported by joy when they were judged worthy of some deep humiliation. And what about us? Fainthearted souls that we are, we know nothing about suffering, because we do not know how to hope. We become overwhelmed by the slightest crosses, often even those we bring on ourselves because of our own pride, rashness, and weakness.