Cross

Count Your Trials as Joy

DVRodriguez2026-10-27T13:28:27-04:00

God will never allow you to be tempted beyond your capability – because He is good and faithful. During these trials, He offers graces that you may grow in faith, charity, prayer, etc. Know that a trial tests and purifies your faith. When you cooperate with His grace, His cross triumphs (exalts!) in your life. Our Lady loved and venerated the cross, that is, privations, humiliations, mortifications, and sufferings. Turn to Our Lady of Sorrows for the graces to have the same sentiments that are in her Immaculate Heart.

Count Your Trials as JoyDVRodriguez2026-10-27T13:28:27-04:00

My Risen Jesus

DVR Fatima2026-05-21T08:57:27-04:00

Prayer from the sermon given on Easter Sunday Why Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? My Risen Jesus, I devoutly kiss and adore the glorious wound of Thy right hand. By this adorable wound, and by Thy most sacred Passion and Resurrection, pardon me all the sins I have committed against Thee in thought, word, and deed. Glory be to the Father . . . My Risen Jesus, I devoutly kiss and adore the glorious wound of Thy left hand. By this adorable wound, and by Thy most sacred Passion and Resurrection, have mercy on me and root out of my [...]

My Risen JesusDVR Fatima2026-05-21T08:57:27-04:00

Conversion Comes from the Passion

DVRodriguez2026-05-12T16:25:00-04:00

“Having joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross” (Heb 12:2). Jesus’ joy is the salvation of souls, the establishment of His Church, and the fulfillment of His Father’s will. We must participate in His Passion to share His joy. Only by continually turning to His passion —considering the horror of sin and Jesus’ infinite love— will we receive the graces for true conversion. All of Christ’s virtues and teachings shine forth with greater clarity in His passion. If we carry those we love in our heart and memory, how much more should we do so for Our Lord?

Conversion Comes from the PassionDVRodriguez2026-05-12T16:25:00-04:00

Contemplate His Wounds

DVRodriguez2026-03-28T19:50:51-04:00

What most calls man to conversion is the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ; specifically, how it manifests His infinite love (and the horror of sin). Christ’s Passion will produce a change of life in us. The problem is we do not take the time to truly contemplate His blessed Wounds. We must contemplate His Passion attentively, and for a due space of time, not hurriedly. He will grant the grace needed for a complete transformation of life, but you have to make the effort.

Contemplate His WoundsDVRodriguez2026-03-28T19:50:51-04:00

My Crucified Love

DVR Fatima2026-02-20T16:45:12-05:00

The prayer from the sermon given on the First Sunday of Lent in 2018 My crucified Love, my dear Jesus! I believe in Thee, and confess Thee to be the true Son of God and my Savior. I adore Thee from the abyss of my own nothingness, and I thank Thee for the death Thou didst suffer for me, that I might obtain the life of divine grace. My beloved Redeemer, to Thee I owe all my salvation. If I have not loved Thee in times past, I love Thee now; and I desire nothing but to love Thee with all my heart. But without [...]

My Crucified LoveDVR Fatima2026-02-20T16:45:12-05:00

The Cross: Means of Suffering and Life

DVRodriguez2025-10-02T09:25:05-04:00

The True Cross was first found by St. Helena. Centuries later, the Persians stole it. The Christian Emperor, Heraclius, fasted and prayed, then conquered the Persians and recovered the Cross. He returned it to Jerusalem. Yet as he approached Calvary, the Cross grew heavier and he could no longer move forward. Only by imitating Our Lord’s humility could he proceed. Our Lord has tailor made crosses for each of us and they are rarely what we choose. We too can only advance if we follow Christ’s example, embracing our crosses. We do not like suffering; it goes against our nature. So [...]

The Cross: Means of Suffering and LifeDVRodriguez2025-10-02T09:25:05-04:00

Christ’s Suffering and Christ’s Love

DVRodriguez2025-07-14T09:36:22-04:00

There is nothing more conducive to the glory of God and sanctification of one’s soul than to think every day on the pains that Christ suffered for love of us. This is what Catholicism is. In these two mysteries –suffering & love– we learn the great truths about life. The Mass is our perpetual remembrance of them; at every moment it is being offered somewhere in the world. Yet the Mass is also a perpetual presence of His cross and death, from which we all can draw life, strength and grace. The more we do so, the more we reject sin [...]

Christ’s Suffering and Christ’s LoveDVRodriguez2025-07-14T09:36:22-04:00

The Easy Path Avoids the Cross

DVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:54:43-04:00

In the Easter liturgies, Christ issues a call to faith and a call to carry our Cross. It is by these means that one enters eternal life. The cross represents all those trials in life which God permits; things which are unpleasant, difficult, sorrowful, even evil. Today, we Catholics find ourselves in a very grave situation because we have largely rejected the Cross. We see this in worship, doctrine, and morality. Yet the good shepherd carries his cross, for he will even lay down hill life for his sheep.

The Easy Path Avoids the CrossDVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:54:43-04:00

Six Saints Who Loved the Cross

DVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:44:28-04:00

Consider three interrelated themes: resurrection, faith, and the Cross, which holds these themes together. We often lack faith, turning from the Cross and preferring the easier path. We fail to believe the Cross is the source of all blessings and what brings us sanctification. Eternal life comes through faith and the cross. The saints, who enjoy eternal beatitude, are models in faith and in carrying their cross. In fact, every saint carried a heavy cross. The cross purifies and strengthens your charity. And the more you love the cross, the more God works through you.

Six Saints Who Loved the CrossDVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:44:28-04:00

Give Testimony of Christ Crucified

DVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:44:51-04:00

The Church calls us to mourn the sufferings and death of Our Savior, especially because our sins caused His passion and because we show Him such ingratitude. Do not flee from the Cross but welcome it. Make the effort to die to yourself. Everyone must experience suffering; how we face it determines our eternity, As St. Paul teaches, to be Christ’s disciple –to be Catholic– means to walk faithfully and constantly on the path of the Cross. Look to the example of Simon of Cyrene.

Give Testimony of Christ CrucifiedDVRodriguez2025-05-29T12:44:51-04:00