Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of relying on faith during difficult times, akin to how travelers depend on a staff for support.
In this quote, Anthony of Padua likens the act of leaning on the Cross of Christ to a traveler's reliance on a staff during a long journey. This metaphor suggests that just as a staff provides stability and support to a traveler, faith and the teachings of Christ offer strength and guidance to Christians as they navigate the challenges and obstacles of life. It highlights the importance of faith as a source of comfort and stability during trying times.
In practice
A pastor might use this quote during a sermon about relying on faith in times of adversity.
The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant.
Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems.
Damned money! Alas! How many religious did it blind! How many cloistered religious did it deceive! Money is the 'droppings of birds' that blinded the eyes of Tobit.
The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.
The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.
Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.
Faith in the biblical sense is substantive, based on the knowledge that the One in whom that faith is placed has proven that He is worthy of that trust. In its essence, faith is a confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in His power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence in Him remains because of who He is.
Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don't.
You know, it's one thing to say you believe. It's another thing to have your faith tested severely and come out on the other side of it still believing God.
Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.
I was freeborn according to the flesh; I am born of a father who was a decurion, but I sold my noble rank - I blush not to state it, nor am I sorry - for the profit of others. In short, I am a slave in Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of the eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It's been a constant struggle with my athletic career to identify myself as a child of God and understand that His love is unconditional for us; it's not conditional like fans, or coaches, or even myself.
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