St. Philip Catholic Church: Good morning everybody. It's good to be back at the eleven o'clock Mass. I think this is only my second time, maybe third, I don't remember. But I like to sleep in every now and then. Actually I had the seven o'clock mass. That's a tough crowd. The seven o'clock mass? Talking about taking up your cross? Yeah. Just like they just I had to bring a little fire to the seven o'clock this point. I I bring I brought my flame thrower to the seven o'clock. I'm gonna bring it to you today too, hopefully. Come Holy Spirit. Who wants to see would like to see revival in the Catholic Church? How many I'd like to see a new Pentecost come upon the Catholic Church? I better see every hand go up to that. Because if your hand doesn't come up, then you don't know the gospels. You don't know why Jesus Christ came into this world and gave his life on the cross so that there can be new life. I came that there that you may have life and have it more abundant. That's why he came. Jesus was born to die. He knew who he was and he knew his mission. To give his life so that we can have life in him. So we want to see revival, you want to see a new Pentecost, you say yes. You sure? You know that's gonna cost you. Did you know that? It's gonna cost you. It cost him his life, didn't it? Good Friday came before Easter, and Easter came before Pentecost. That's the order we have to follow. A lot of times we want to go around the cross. That's why we have addictions, because we don't like suffering. None of us likes to suffer. God Doesn't like suffering. But it's the cards we've been dealt through sin. Sin, because of sin, suffering and death has entered our world. But here's the good news: Jesus came to conquer sin and death. And He does it through the cross. Every one of you here today has one of these. Cross. One of my friends, this is a cherished gift, a friend of mine who died from esophagus cancer. He made this during his treatment and gave that to me because he knows I like to preach on the cross. In our religious community, our motto was to live Jesus and his cross. That was beautiful words when I first joined as an office. I thought that's cool to live Jesus and his cross until I started learning what that meant. Not easy to follow Jesus, is it? Jesus says to Nagay's gospel, he gives us the conditions to discipleship. If you want to follow me, you're gonna have to deny yourself and take up your cross daily. We all have our crosses to take up. If we take up our cross, we take it up with him. He's with us. And he's going to lead us beyond the cross. But we have to be willing to take it up. Those of you who are old enough, do you remember these three words? Offer it up. How many remember those words? Am I the only one? Must be the German Catholic parents I had. I heard that one a lot. Anytime I was complaining, things weren't going my way, my mother would say, Offer it up, honey. And I'm like, you say that one more time. Offer it up. Take up your cross. That's what she was saying. And I thought I thought back then take up your cross meant suck it up, buttercup. Quit being quit being a wimp. You know, that's what that's not what it means at all. Take up your cross means to embrace suffering. If you follow Jesus, if we follow Jesus, you're going to suffer. You're going to suffer persecution. You're going to suffer misunderstanding. You're gonna suffer false accusations and ridicule and mockery. That's why Jesus was telling his followers, You're going to have to take up your cross if you're going to follow me. There's conditions to follow me. You're going to have to be willing to die. You may not die on the cross, you may not die the shedding of your blood. That day may come. We don't know. But you will you are called to die. We are called to die every day. Diedrich Bonhoeffer was a famous Lutheran theologian who wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship. He died in a Nazi concentration camp. And one of my favorite quotes from him is he says When Christ calls a man to follow him, he bids him to die. When Jesus calls you to follow him, he bids you to die. When mom and dad asked me to clean up my room, they bid you to die. When the Lord tells you to bite your tongue in traffic, he bids you to die. When the Lord tells me I need to forgive somebody who's really hurt me and I'm hanging on to the resentment and anger, he bids me to die. To die to my pride, to die to my stubbornness. When the Lord asked me to be patient with my children He bids me to die. When the Lord asks me to be patient with my spouse and bite your tongue, he bids me to die. You see all the ways you can die? You have opportunities to die every day. And you guys die every day. You're offering up sacrifices every day to get your kids to mass. How many kids here today don't want to be at this mass? No, you're out there. For you. How many of you kids don't want to be here today? When the Lord, when your parents tell when your parents tell you to get up, we're gonna go to Mass, He bids you to die. Right? You gotta get up. I gotta die to myself. I have to die to my flesh. You see, my flesh still wants to stay in bed and say mass is boring, it's a waste of time. But the Lord, through my parents, tells me, get up, we're going to church. See, we don't want to die, do we? it's not gonna let me go out there. We don't want to die. There's a part of us that's rebellious. Let's just be honest, everybody. There's a part of us that's rebellious. I want to do what I want to do. Have you ever heard this before? Who's the church to tell me what to do? Have you ever heard that one? The church needs to stay out of my bedroom. The church needs to stay out of my marriage and quit telling me what to do. Who's talking? Whose voice is that? Could it be Satan? Yeah, and it can also be your own pride. The Lord's calling you to die so that you can live. See, there's there's the part I've been leaving out. 'Cause if I just leave it at die, that doesn't sound very exciting, does it, kids? He's calling you to die so you can live with him, so that you can live a fuller life. Die, die to sin, die to your pridefulness, die to your stubbornness. That's what he means to take up your cross. Take up your cross and follow me, and I'll lead you to a life that you cannot even dream of. A life of freedom, a life of joy. And this is why he gives us the cross. He gives you the cross as a gift. Do not see this as a curse. It's a gift. The cross is your salvation. All the opportunities you are given every day to die to yourself is an opportunity to grow in holiness. To go to grow in closer union with God the Father. Every time you're stuck in traffic and man is there traffic around here. Whew. Right? Every time you're stuck in traffic and that little part of you wants to go bleep bleep bleep bleep just Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for letting me sit in this traffic. Thank you for this person in front of me doing 35 in a 55 mile an hour zone. I love you, Jesus. Praise you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you for slowing me down, Lord. Even though I want to scream and say a few choice words, Lord, I'm gonna bite my tongue because you told me to die. And I'm gonna die. And I'm gonna die with joy. So it's not only dying to yourself, but doing it without grumbling, kids. Okay, kids, I'm back to you now. I used to go I'll go out there but the microphone won't let me. When mom and dad tell you what to do, you do it with a smile on your face. Go clean your room. Okay. Get up, we're going to mass. Okay. Because if you say we're going to mass and you grumble, how many kids anytime you do what you're told but you grumble under your breath? Raise your hand. If you don't raise your hand, I'm gonna come out there and grab it and raise it for you. Because how many times you've done what mom and dad told you, but you were doing this? Right? Yeah, you weren't dying. No, you look like you were dying, but really you're still struggling with pride. I'm gonna pick on the big kids now. Because kids, the big kids here, you see this body? I'm still I'm still a kid in a big body. We're all kids. Jesus, there's a reason why Jesus calls us little children. Because we act like little children sometimes. Little children. Even adults have trouble with obedience. Adults, do you have trouble with obedience? To the church's teachings? Please say yes. Yes, you do, some of them. The cafeteria Catholics, right? Pick and choose what you want to believe, but we have trouble giving our obedience to the teachings that Jesus gave to the church. Obedience to the church is obedience to Christ. You cannot separate the church from Christ. They're one. So where are you struggling with obedience? Where are you struggling with pride? Ask the Lord to give you the grace to die. And to stay dead. My retreat director used to say that on my retreat. He was he's in it, he's ninety-eight, he's a very holy priest. And he used to say, he'd look at me right in my eyes, and I say, Would you quit looking at me like that? I feel like you're looking into my soul when you're and he goes, Mark, I want you to pray on this retreat. You ask God to give you the grace to die and to stay dead. I'm like, Yes, sir. Stay dead. In other words, Stay humble. That's what it means to take up your cross. You see, this is the only way you're going to get into the kingdom is through the cross. I'm sorry, folks, there's no other way. It's the way of humility, the way of virtue, right? But the good news is we can enter into his kingdom now. We can experience the transforming power of his kingdom now. You don't have to wait till you're buried in under the ground. The church calls that redemptive suffering. See, Jesus gave us the cross to transform our lives, to discipline our minds and to discipline our bodies. He gave us the cross as a gift. We have to see it as a gift. It will lead you to life. When you embrace the cross, it becomes sweet and light. But when you resist the cross, which we do, when we resist the cross, we say no to God, it will crush you. You just make the cross heavier when you resist it. So what's the key? Accepting the early church fathers used to say, accept everything as though it were from the hand of God. Embrace that one. Accept everything as though it were from the hand of God. that's so hard. You mean this traffic? This work this cow worker that drives me crazy. I'm gonna pick on the parents too, because you know, we talk about the kids having to die, but the kids have to die to you too, don't they? Kids, you have to put up with their shortcomings too, don't you? Because your parents aren't perfect, are they? If they are, I wanna meet them after mass. The only perfect parents I know was Right? It's just learning to live with each other, learning to forgive each other, learning to love each other with the love of Jesus, unconditional love. That's what it means to take up the cross. So at every mass, you come to make an offering. I find that most Catholics don't even know this. They don't even know why they're there. Do you know why you're here? You're here to offer your sacrifice with Jesus on this altar. Think about all the sacrifices you make every day for your children, for your spouses. You get up in the middle of the night to change a dirty diaper, you're making a sacrifice, and you're doing it out of love for those kids. All the difficulties you guys are going through right now, you unite that with Jesus on this altar. Because when you come to Mass, you come to Calvary. That's why there's a crucifix on that altar is to remind the priest and to remind us that you are at Calvary. And Jesus is on that cross. And he's saying, Put yourself on the cross. Isn't that what's missing on this cross? This is not a crucifix. What's missing on this cross? You. Get up on it. Saint Paul says, I am crucified in Christ. It is no longer I that lives, but Christ in me. St. Paul allowed himself to live a crucified life, a humble life, so that Jesus can rise up in him. Lord, give me a the grace to live a crucified life, a humble life, so that you can rise up in me, and so that the world can see you in me. So unite your suffering. When that cup, that precious cup of his blood is lifted up in mass, I'm gonna hold it up a little extra long today. And I want you to just place all your sufferings, your struggles, your sufferings, your joys. Place it in his blood. And just say, Jesus, I unite my life. St. Paul says, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. I offer you my body, my life, all my struggles, my family, finances, health, everything, Jesus. I unite it with you. And I ask you, Jesus, to receive it. Unite it and give it to the Father. And in doing so, Jesus, I ask that you transform my life. That's called redemptive suffering. Lord Jesus, I need redeeming. I need transformation. And if we all practice this every day, just the little things, if we all learn to practice to live Jesus in the cross, this country could be turned around overnight. Did you know that? You want to know what's gonna save the United States? When we get up on the cross with him and we start loving each other with the love he has and stop hating each other, this country could tur be turned around overnight. Jesus is calling you to follow him, to take up your cross, because he's going to lead you to a whole new life.