How much are you willing to suffer? That is a hard question to answer. Many people may begin with another question: Why am I suffering? or What is the goal of my suffering? Both very good questions. In Matthew Kelly’s book “Rediscover Jesus” he spends the whole of chapter fifteen on this question.
Why would I choose to suffer? Pause for a second and begin to answer that question for yourself. (PAUSE) If you have never asked or answered that question then Lent is a good time to “take time” and ponder this important Christian question because the invitation of Jesus to enter into suffering is a real part of the Gospel. In fact in a couple of weeks we will hear all about suffering as we hear the readings from the Gospels of Jesus’ Passion and Death.
So, let’s begin with that: Why would Jesus choose to enter into suffering? The only answer that makes any sense is one simple word: LOVE. And if this is the answer for Jesus then as disciples, and Christians as members of the Catholic Church we should be able to answer in the affirmative also…I choose to suffer for love. Once more this is not to say we suffer for the fun of it or in some pleasurable way but rather we suffer for the love of the other knowing the grace grown through love helps us to move into the love of God and the other.
Pope St. John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter “Salvifici Doloris: Of Human Suffering” looks at the mystery of suffering in the light of our Christian faith. He writes, “The Cross of Christ throws salvific light, in a most penetrating way, on man’s life and in particular on his suffering. For through faith the Cross reaches man together with the Resurrection: the mystery of the Passion is contained in the Paschal Mystery. The witnesses of Christ’s Passion are at the same time witnesses of his Resurrection. Paul writes: “That I may know him (Christ) and the power of his Resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead”.” (#21 SD)
This is the Way of the Cross that as we pray with Jesus carrying his cross we encounter love along the way; Our Blessed Mother, the accidental stranger, the caregiver, those who pray for and with us and finally the one who proclaims our dignity even in death. (I will have more to say on this next week) It is a trust that along the road we will encounter the great love that sustains us in an even greater love in and through Jesus Christ.
St. John Paul II continues, “The path of Paul is clearly paschal: sharing in the Cross of Christ comes about through the experience of the Risen One, therefore through a special sharing in the Resurrection. Thus, even in the Apostle’s expressions on the subject of suffering there so often appears the motif of glory, which finds its beginning in Christ’s Cross.” (#21 SD) It is clearly paschal because St. Paul believes the Passion and Death was followed by the Resurrection. The promise of truth bound up in life. We are always mindful of our true destination…our true home. This means we must continually seek out and encounter Jesus in all aspects of our life. Through prayer, service and emptying ourselves through fasting we offer our lives in love.
“This is the meaning of suffering, which is truly supernatural and at the same time human. It is supernatural because it is rooted in the divine mystery of the Redemption of the world, and it is likewise deeply human, because in it the person discovers himself, his own humanity, his own dignity, his own mission.” (#31 SD) In this discovery we find Jesus Christ present in healing our lives of sin, division and fear. It is an of generous love where we are broken and shared in the true Paschal Mystery of love.
Matthew Kelly reminds us that the world sees suffering as worthless and without sense (p 73-74) while we see it as an act of love, an act of life and an act of God’s grace growing in our hearts.
God bless
Fr. Mark