Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,
Jesus said to them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”
And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum,
the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,
“Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes,” he said. 
When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,
Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?
From their subjects or from foreigners?”
When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him,
“Then the subjects are exempt.
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,
and take the first fish that comes up. 
Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you.” MT 17:22-27

Imagine being Jesus’s followers and witnessing all of the amazing things He did and said. Then, He totally and completely takes the wind out of your sails by telling you, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” How do the Apostles respond? “They were overwhelmed with grief.” What does all of this have to do with our salvation? What was Jesus trying to say to His closest followers?

Bishop Barron says, “There have been numerous attempts throughout the Christian centuries to name the salvific nature of the cross. Let me offer just one take on it. It became clear to the first Christians that somehow, on that terrible cross, sin had been dealt with. The curse of sin had been removed, taken care of. On that terrible cross, Jesus functioned as the “Lamb of God,” sacrificed for sin.

Does this mean God the Father is a cruel taskmaster demanding a bloody sacrifice so that his anger might be appeased? No; Jesus’ crucifixion was the opening up of the divine heart so that we could see that no sin of ours could finally separate us from the love of God.

Today’s challenge: Face your sin, your brokenness, and give it to Jesus. His mission and purpose was to be the “Sacrificial Lamb of God” and take our place for all of the times we told God I don’t care I’m going to do it anyway. God’s love is the most powerful thing in the universe, “no sin of ours could finally separate us from the love of God.” Who does this? Thank God He is unfair in loving us sinners who do not deserve this wonderful gift, to be saved by the cross of Christ! Allow Jesus into your struggles, surrender, it’s what He came and died for. He has the power to heal the greatest of sins and brokenness. Surrender.

Be a servant, become a saint! #Christian YOLO