This article is part of the Marian Mondays Series, a weekly reflection on the mysteries of the rosary by Jonathan Conrad, owner and founder of The Catholic Woodworker. Subscribe to have these reflections and more sent straight to your inbox every week.
It can feel overwhelming to think about how to fully understand the heart of the Gospels, including the mysteries of the rosary within them. For me, one of the most challenging to grasp is the fifth Luminous Mystery, the Institution of the Eucharist.
But I’m reminded that we can’t fully understand and know God in this life. I don’t have to meditate on this whole mystery or have a fully fleshed out understanding of it. I can just take a little piece and explore it instead.
Today, I feel drawn to the Eucharist and how it relates to the fruit of this mystery: the heart of thanksgiving. And I start by asking myself, what is the Eucharist? It’s the body and blood of Jesus Christ. And what’s the body and blood of Jesus? It’s the sacrifice that He made for us.
Jesus speaks of His sacrifice in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, referring to it as a cup to drink from. We see this play out with James and John in particular:
“Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons and did Him homage, wishing to ask Him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered Him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to Him, “We can.” He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” (Matthew 20:20-23)
James and John do both drink of the cup that Jesus drinks by sharing in His suffering in their own lives: James through physical martyrdom during the second Christian persecution recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and John through spiritual martyrdom.
While most of us are not called to physical martyrdom like James, we are all called to spiritual martyrdom: that sacrifice of self for the love of Christ and the good and glory of God. And I think that many of us men especially are tempted to desire the big, heroic sacrifices but shirk the small sacrifices of our day-to-day lives.
If I look at my own life, I know I struggle with being misunderstood. It hurts so much when someone has interpreted my actions incorrectly or drawn an incorrect conclusion. I don’t want to accept this cross. I don’t want to suffer in this way.
But God is still calling me to it. And admittedly, this is something I’m still working on—learning to have a heart of thanksgiving, even in these little opportunities to suffer for Him.
Holy Mother, pray for us as we strive to bear our suffering and raise it up in gratitude to God.
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