The angels envy you, O priest, because you can suffer out of love for Christ, and they cannot.
You can share in Christ’s sufferings; they can only watch. How often have they wished, and still wish, to live the moments of Christ’s Passion and death, yet they cannot, while the humblest priest can live Christ’s Passion with him, can accompany Christ on the road to Golgotha, the way of the cross.
How great it is to share the sufferings of the one who loved you and whom you love! When the mystery of suffering is understood as sharing the sufferings of the beloved, it turns from a cause of sorrow into a spring of joy and hope. How great you are and how loved by God! You are a star reflecting his splendour, scattering the darkness and sowing hope in sorrowful hearts; you are the burning coal that cleanses and purifies unclean lips.
You are the road that joins God to people and people to God. Amen.
Father Gerard Abi Saab
