The Absolute Joy of Sacrifice

St Gemma, whose whole life was a sacrifice.

Blessed Lent, everyone!

There is joy in sacrifice. Absolute joy. Don't let the world fool you-- sacrifice is not all sorrow and ashes and pain. Sacrifice brings a deep and abiding joy into your heart. The deeper the sacrifice, the deeper the joy. Of course sacrifice can be painful, but the end results are always joy.

Think about the sacrifice a mother makes to birth a child...nine months of giving over her body to another human being, and the final hours of this sacrifice, before the child takes its first breath, are hours of mind-boggling pain. I know, I've been there holding the hand of many friends as they gave birth. The pain they were willing to experience in order to birth their child was downright terrifying to watch. And then? And then their child is there, taking its first breath and crying out to the world 'I'm here!' The sacrifice is a pale memory when it stands side by side with the reality of a new life. A new life!

Every sacrifice brings pain, yes, but the reward is always oceans and mountains bigger than the pain. During this Lenten season, whether Christian or Jew, Atheist or Pantheist, try the road of sacrifice and see where it takes you. I promise you will not be disappointed. The deeper the sacrifice, the deeper your joy will be. What better pay off can you ask for? Even the bank doesn't give returns like that on your savings account! It's miraculous, really.

The challenge I offer you today, is think of at least one material thing you love. Then give it away to someone who could use it, or sell it and use the proceeds for some greater good that you know needs the funds. Easy? No. But you will be stunned at the effects of this gesture, if you do it with love.

“We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.”

~Mother Teresa