Radical Surrender: Letters to Seminarians by Michael Najim

Author:Michael Najim [Najim, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780980045581
Publisher: The Institute For Priestly Formation
Published: 2014-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

Questions for Prayer

Am I governed by the daily vacillations of my life or by the fruits of the Holy Spirit?

What effects might I experience in my life if I began to incorporate the daily examen into my prayer?

The thoughts, feelings, and desires that surfaced as I read this letter:

My prayer:

The Cross

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings..."

Col. 1:24

My Dear Brother,

Will you be surprised if you experience trials that cause interior turmoil in your heart? Tell me, since you are on the path to priesthood, to be another Christ, do you honestly think you will not encounter the cross? Did you think it will be a smooth road? As you strive to grow daily in union with Christ, do you expect Him to lead you to walk with Him everywhere except to Calvary? If we seek union with Jesus, then we must know that He will unite us with every mystery of His life—not just the joyful, glorious, and luminous mysteries, but the sorrowful as well. He wants to live His holy mysteries in and through us.

What you must do here is exactly what Our Lord did. He embraced the cross with love; He did not do it grudgingly. Do you not believe that Jesus knows what you are experiencing? Do you not believe that He knew, from all eternity, that you would be experiencing these interior struggles? Do you not believe that, in a mysterious way, He is allowing this struggle for your sanctification and the sanctification of those whom you will soon serve ? You must do exactly what He did: cry out to Him in weakness as He cried out to the Father so that you can receive the strength that He received from the Father.

I recall a time when I was going through a difficult time in the seminary. My experience was dark and confusing; my mind was filled with vocational doubts, and I could not understand why the Lord was allowing such thoughts. Because it was a time of desolation, the temptation to doubt and question the Lord was always present. But that challenging experience drove me to my knees more than any other time in seminary. I remember how sincerely I sought the Lord in prayer and how open I was with my spiritual director. Each time I prayed the Way of the Cross in the chapel, I was consoled. Each time I prayed the Way of the Cross, I experienced a nearness to Christ that eased the weight of my burden. Those experiences were not coincidental. I prayerfully related my sorrow to His sorrow, and I received what He received: consolation from the Father.

I still do not completely understand why the Lord allowed me to go through that trial, but I do know the valuable spiritual lesson He taught me. Experiencing the cross in our lives is an invitation to unite ourselves with Christ in His suffering. Being in the midst of trial is an invitation from the Lord to grow in friendship with Him.

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