Blessed Henry Suso on the Cross
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"I know O Lord, that Thy crosses are the instruments of Thy wisdom and the pledges of our eternity, but they should not be too heavy for our strength ... I believe that there is no one in the world so sorely tried as myself. How am I to endure them?" To which the Lord replied: "A sick man, in the midst of his suffering, always thinks that here is no other suffering comparable to his and every poor man thinks that there is no misery equal to his. If I were to send thee other crosses, your complaint would be the same. Be courageous, then; be firm and generous. Resign thyself completely to My will. Accept with resignation all the crosses which I deem it well to send thee and refuse none of them. Thou knowest very well that I desire thy good and I know what is best for thee. Experience has shown thee that all the crosses which I sent thee, whatever they have been, elevate thee and unite thee more closely and strongly with My Divinity than any other things which you might have chosen to do voluntarily ... If suffering did not molest thee, would it be true suffering? ... Why should it be strange that they cross is heavy, if you do not love it? Love it, and thou canst carry it easily ... If I were to inundate thee with spiritual consolations and embrace thee with love, thou wouldst not profit as much as through suffering the aridities and trails which I send thee ... Live, then, in peace, certain that thou wilt not perish under the Cross. It is easier for ten souls, who enjoy the delights of grace, to fall into sin, than for one soul that endures only affliction. The enemy has no power over those who lovingly weep under the Cross. Even if you were the most esteemed doctor in the world and the most learned theologian in My Church; even if you could speak of God with the tongue of an angel; you would still be less holy and less lovable in my eyes than a soul that lives under the burden of my crosses. I give My graces to good and bad, but I reserve My crosses for My chosen ones ... Affliction weans a man away from the world and draws him to heaven. The more his worldly friends abandon him, the more does he grow in My grace which elevates him and makes him divine. From the Cross comes humility, purity of conscience, fervor of spirit, peace, tranquility of soul, discretion, recollection, charity, and all the blessings which flow from charity."
