Embracing the Cross and Offering Up Our Sufferings

It seems that many Catholics, and other Christians, live a very comfortable life in the Western world. Often, we forget that we were called to take up our own cross in following Jesus. How can we get back to a spirit of penitence? We take a look at penitential observances in the life of the Church, and how we as Christians in the modern world can "toughen up" and stop being lax in our religious practices.