Good morning. I woke up early this morning. Since I started working overnights, it has really messed with my sleep patterns, my body wants to be awake when I want to sleep, and sleep when I want to be awake. By time I get used to sleeping at nights, I’m working again, than I can’t sleep in the day. So I offer my sleeplessness to God. Seems kind of strange, but whenever I offer my problems to Jesus, it always seems to help.

Anyhow, I didn’t want to wake my wife, so I got up and went into the front room to say the rosary. It’s quiet, dark and peaceful. As I was saying the sorrowful mysteries I was thinking of what Jesus suffered for us. The Sign of the Cross, the crucifix have always been symbols of what Jesus suffered for us, but until I watched “The Passion” a few years ago, I never really thought of or imagined the sheer physical torture that Jesus suffered. As I said my prayers, I could feel the blows, the pains, the humiliations Jesus suffered, and I could imagine his response. Love. As he was beaten, whipped, kicked, cursed at, spit upon, Jesus was not focused on the physical pain, the mental tortures, but upon the spiritual.

Jesus prayed, he suffered and he prayed, not for himself, for his pain or abuses, but for us. He looked upon those who abused him with Love. Jesus suffered because of our sins, because we didn’t love God, and he loved us and prayed for us, forgave us our sins, than he died for us. Jesus suffered not for what he did, but for what we did, and didn’t do.

We also have sufferings in our lives. Physical pains, mental and spiritual problems and we can do what Jesus did. Jesus took his pain and sufferings and gave them to God, gave them for us, for our salvation. So take your pains, your sufferings, your shortcomings and do what Jesus did, give them to God. It won’t make your pain go away, won’t make you suffer any less, but your sufferings will no longer be focused on you, but on God. We suffer when we focus on ourselves, but when we put the focus on God, our sufferings are no longer so important, because they’re not our sufferings any longer, they belong to God. And God will put our offering to good use.

God bless you and have a good day, George