Offer it up

     As I was growing up, my mother would always tell us, if we scraped our knee or cut our finger on paper, to offer it up to Jesus. Being so small and really not understanding, one thing I knew was that I could trust in her words. So I did it. The pain incurred by those small sufferings would somehow disappear or lessen in pain. She would always tell us that if we did this, it would ease the suffering of the Holy Souls in Purgatory and gladden the Heart of Jesus. The phenomenon of this deed is that it always worked. Even though the scourge was still there visually, the intensity of the pain just disintegrated and evaporated into sweetness, knowing you eased the pain of someone else. 

     Offering up our sufferings, is a rich tool in attaining Heaven. No matter what kind of suffering you partake in, whether it be of mind, body or soul, offering up that sweet gift is fruitful. We will suffice our Lord's sufferings and or that of someone who is in great need of relief. 

     God will never ever push us past the point of no return. He may give us a lot to bear, but in that bearing can come Peace and Joy in every moment that is offered up. 

     Our offerings rise to Heaven, where all can hear our voices, and in our anguish, it is relieved by comfort and peace in the knowledge that one good deed, done for the sake of another, shall be rewarded a thousand fold.