St. Dismas is the good thief who hung next to Christ during the crucifixion, and in my opinion, there’s no better saint to think about in times of suffering.
In the middle of Dismas’ agony, he recognizes Jesus as his savior, and asks to enter the kingdom of heaven alongside him, and Christ himself canonizes him as a saint when he says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
We can follow St. Dismas’ example and invite Jesus into our suffering, not to ease the pain, but to find meaning by uniting it to the cross of Christ.
Snippet from the Show
“No matter what your suffering is, you can take a cue from St. Dismas, and as you hang on your cross, know you do not hang alone. Christ is right there next to you.”
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”’
Luke 23:39-43
Meet Your Host, Colin MacIver:
Colin is an enthusiastic transplant to vibrant Louisiana, where he lives with his beautiful wife Aimee and two energetic children, Leo and Zélie. His juggling act involves being a husband, a dad, a teacher, a youth minister, a musician and a national Ascension content creator and trainer.
In his spare time, he eats too many crawfish, savors king cake, plays one-on-one kickball with his son, and tries, for the life of him, to properly load the dishwasher.
Check out Colin’s latest work with Ascension: Power and Grace: A Guide to the Catholic Sacraments and Quick Catholic Lessons with Fr. Mike.
