3. “Let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2).

4. The life of Christians, as mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews, is full of trials and sufferings. At times we are tempted to get discouraged: why not opt for an easier way, or why not give up?

5. The author of this letter, instead, invites us to continue on the path we embarked on: it is difficult, it requires effort, but the way of the Gospel is the one that leads to the fullness of life. In fact, he urges Christians to run along this way unwaveringly, also when weighed down by suffering.

6. We who decide to follow Jesus must be like athletes; in order to reach the goal, we need perseverance, that is, stamina, the ability to stick with it which comes both from the conviction that God is with us and from our determination to make it.

7. Above all, we are asked to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, who prepared the way for us and is our guide.

8. “Let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2).

9. Jesus on the cross, especially when he felt abandoned by the Father, is the model of courage, perseverance, and endurance: he remained steadfast in the midst of the trial, re-abandoning himself to the hands of the God by whom he felt forsaken.

10. Chiara Lubich often speaks of Jesus who courageously faces, without giving in, the greatest of trials: he is the model for running our race, for showing us how to overcome our trials. Each one of our sufferings or trials in life Jesus has already taken upon himself in his abandonment on the cross. She shows us how to keep our eyes fixed on him.

11. “Are we gripped by fear? Didn’t Jesus on the cross, during his abandonment, appear overcome by the fear that the Father had forgotten him?”

12. When we are overwhelmed by discouragement, we can still look at Jesus who in that moment “seemed enveloped by the feeling that the Father was not there to comfort him in his passion, apparently about to lose courage to endure his terrible trial to the end…

13. Do circumstances cause us to be disoriented?

14. “In that tremendous trial it seemed that Jesus could no longer understand what was happening to him since he cried out “Why?”…

15. “And when we are surprised and deluded, or hurt by trauma, an unexpected misfortune, an illness, or an absurd situation, we can always remember the suffering of Jesus forsaken who personified all these trials and a thousand others.”

16. He is beside us in every difficulty, ready to share in our every suffering.

17. “Let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2).

18. How then should we live this Word?

19. By looking at Jesus and acquiring the habit of “calling him by name in the trials of our life. This way we will be able to recognize him and tell him: Jesus Forsaken wound, solitude, doubt,

20. desolation, and so forth. Jesus Forsaken trial, Jesus Forsaken

21. “Hearing us call his name, he will feel that we’ve recognized him behind each painful circumstance and he will answer us with more love.

22. After we’ve embraced him, he will become: our peace, our comfort, and courage, our balance, our health, and victory. He will be the explanation, and the solution for everything.”

23. “Let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2).

24. This is what happened to Louise who, years ago, found a flyer with this particular Word of Life. She herself recounts: “The news came unexpectedly: my first son, 29 years old, had been seriously injured in a traffic accident.

25. “I ran to the hospital with my heart in my throat. My son was lying down, immobile, a blank look in his eyes. I felt desperate.

26. “In the days of anguished waiting that followed, I stopped by the hospital chapel one day. There I found the Word of Life which invited me to keep my gaze on Jesus forsaken. I read it attentively: yes, I told myself, it really speaks about my trial…

27. “The intensive care unit, devoid of hope, no longer seemed like a martyrdom to me: it now connected me to the love of God. And I was able, while holding my son’s hand, to pray for him as he was leaving me. He died then, and yet I have never felt him so alive.”

28. “Let us… persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2). “Word of Life,” a monthly publication of the Focolare Movement Text by Fr. Fabio Ciardi and Gabriella Fallacara Graphics by Anna Lollo in collaboration with Fr. Placido D’Omina Anna LolloPlacido D’OminaAnna LolloPlacido D’Omina (Sicily – Italy)