{"id":579,"date":"2013-03-23T00:02:02","date_gmt":"2013-03-23T00:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=579"},"modified":"2013-03-21T00:15:06","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T00:15:06","slug":"palm-sunday-for-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/03\/palm-sunday-for-us.html","title":{"rendered":"Palm Sunday for Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In the Catholic Church, Palm Sunday is also Passion Sunday, and the gospel reading is about the Lord’s arrest, crucifixion and death on the cross. It is hard to hear about how Jesus suffered, and even harder to imagine someone so dedicated to love being so reviled. But it is also amazing to hear of Jesus’ grace, even tenderness, as he made his painful way to Calvary. He made sure that Mary, his mother, would be taken care of. He forgave those who brought him to his death. And he forgave one of those who also hung on a cross that day. Jesus never stopped his ministry, not even in his last moments!<\/p>\n

This always brings me to how I live my life. It’s sometimes so easy to say, “I’m too tired,” or “I can’t do another thing.” To be sure, we have to carefully budget our activities and time so that we do not go into worse flares, aggravate symptoms, or render ourselves useless to what truly needs to be done.\u00a0 But to stop trying to shine with Christ’s light, to stop witnessing where we can, to stop “taking care of business,” indeed to stop being who we are as God’s children, well, it’s just not us. We’re made for better things than “can’t” and “won’t.”<\/p>\n

Yes, we have to be careful. Yes, we have to work with our doctors and do what is most healthful. But, also, yes, we have the example of Jesus to show that, even under tremendous external difficult, we can find ways both large and small to carry out our ministry – to Calvary and beyond.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. 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