The Blessed Virgin had to ask someone else to bury her dead.
Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop said, “The little crosses are often harder to bear than the thumping big ones.”
And I believe her. She experienced many little crosses. She was born into the family of Scottish migrants to Australia. Though her father had once been a seminarian, he was unable to become a priest because of his poor health. Instead, he married and had eight children, of whom Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop was one. He was – however – very bad with money, and the family spent their lives struggling to make ends meet. As a result of this Saint Mary began working as a servant from a very early age.
When she was only twenty-four years of, Saint Mary of the Cross founded a school for the poor. It was the first Catholic school in Australia and was available to children at no charge, so it was in fact a free Catholic school. She founded her order (which was a teaching order of nuns, the Josephites) around the same time. During her work in those days, Saint Mary uncovered a priest who was engaging in paedophilia. As a result of brining this information to the attention of the authorities, that unholy priest began a slanderous campaign against her and had the Saint excommunicated from the Church.
For an entire year, Saint Mary of the Cross was unable to participate in the sacraments and was accused of terrible things without proof or reason. The Saint’s excommunication ended after a year, and she continued in her ministry. But I have been thinking about all those little things along her way. You see, when the Saint said that the little crosses were difficult I can understand what she meant.
You see, the small idiosyncrasies of my husband and my children grate on my nerves, as my small idiosyncrasies grate on theirs. And wearing those small aggravations day in and day out just builds up to a point where it can be almost crippling to have to handle all the frustrations that come with all that bother.
It is easier – in my opinion – to forgive a stranger a terrible and big offence because I will never see them again. But it is much much harder to forgive a loved one for the small aggravations that will never change and never improve and that I will experience daily in my life with them.
There is a sort of courage involved in the ongoing decision to forgive in long-term relationships. And this is why I believe that the Sacrament of Marriage is such an important one. After all, without the Graces of the Holy Spirit, how could I ever actually stay with my husband? How could I ever have the courage to choose to forgive him perpetually? And how could he have the courage to do the same for me?
And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about the little crosses. And I think I should be welcoming those little crosses…
After all, it seems to me that those little crosses really are the making of a Saint…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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