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 VERYONE
SUFFERS. We each deal with suffering in a highly personal way.
 Prior
to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, people could
not bring the hope of eternal glory into their suffering.
Jesus, the Son of God, lowered himself to become man.
Throughout his humble life he accepted rejection, poverty
and a cruel and unfair death for each of us. It was not for
himself that he suffered like this. Jesus came down from
heaven and was perfectly able to go back at any time.
Instead he choose freely to accept the cross to destroy
evil. In doing so, he opened a new way of suffering, a way
that leads to everlasting life. John 3:16 reads,
Yes, God loved the world so much that
he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not be lost but have eternal life.
There
are, I believe, three basic ways suffering can be dealt
with. 1) It can be rejected. 2) Suffering can also be
accepted so that life is more liveable. 3) Suffering can be
embraced and united to the cross of Christ. The latter gives
suffering a deeper meaning as a special call for personal
salvation and for the redemption of the Church.
These
ways of suffering will vary in each Christian's life. The
beautiful thing, however, is finding Jesus' love in every
suffering, giving us the courage and strength needed to be
his disciples. United to the cross of Christ, seemingly the
most useless and hopeless suffering is transformed to become
fruitful and glorious.
Our
third child, Anita, was born with severe physical problems.
Anita also possessed an angelic, peaceful face. She was
never to leave intensive care and she died at the age of
four months. My initial response to her birth was, "My God,
why did you let this happen to her and to me? How are we
going to get through this? What did I do that made her like
this?"
The
wonderful sacrament of Penance began a process in which the
Church opened her arms and heart to my need. Through the
compassion of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I began to
see that I was not responsible for Anita's particular
condition, that God had a special plan of redemption for her
life and had prepared a beautiful place in heaven for us to
be together. Through this experience, I was carried into a
place of trust in God's plan. Believing in God's mercy even
in the midst of these circumstances helped me to surrender
everything to him and receive peace all the more profound
because of the severity of this trial. Many dear friends
around Anita were unspeakably touched by the mercy of God
expressed through the suffering of this little life.
What
seemed to be a most terrible thing, to have and lose a sick
baby, became one of the most treasured and precious times.
The question, "Why me?" became "Thank you, God."
Jesus
already cleared the way to heaven through his suffering, and
now gives us the opportunity to follow his footsteps.
Suffering becomes a privilege when its curse is removed by
the cross. In his apostolic letter, Salvifici Doloris (On
the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering), Pope John Paul II
says:
Christ
has in a sense opened his redemptive suffering to all human
suffering. In so far as man becomes a sharer in Christ's
suffering... to that extent he in his own way completes the
suffering through which Christ accomplishes the redemption
of the world. (#24)
The
great need for carrying the suffering of Christ into our
world can be seen as we look honestly at the problems around
us. Abortion, poverty, marital separation and family
breakdown are only a few of these things. Our active
involvement in relieving these catastrophes is good. A
compassionate response to suffering reflects Jesus's words
to us in Matthew 25:40, Truly, I say
to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you did it to me.
The
poor should never be looked down upon but revered like the
Lord himself. Our community has recently been given the
opportunity to bring security to the Sunday soup kitchen at
Immaculate Conception Church. My husband Gary comes home
with both disturbing and uplifting news. His initial
reception was somewhat difficult as he faced hostility and
resentment for graciously asking that all glue sniffing be
done elsewhere. Now he can look forward to greeting each
person at the door with a smile and warm welcome.
We
have the privilege of suffering and showing love to those
who are suffering. We no longer have to be afraid of
suffering (although naturally we dislike it). Jesus welcomes
us to share in his mystical redemption. Pope John Paul II
suffered a hip replacement during the Year of the Family. I
heard many people comment that he was suffering for our
families. Our Holy Father, himself, has confirmed this. When
our pastor, Fr. Egbert suffered from acute abdominal pain, I
could not help but think that he suffered for our parish.
When our brother Mark suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, I
believe he suffered for our community. As we look at the
lives of the saints who heroically suffered, many even to
death; we cannot help but say yes to the mystery of
suffering for the sake of Christ and the Church.
Suffering
is an absolute necessity. If that fact is not accepted, many
grave sins can overtake us _ despair, resentment or pursuit
of worldly pleasure. But once united to Jesus' suffering,
there is peace and creative cooperation in the salvation of
the world. And, oh! What a splendid reward in heaven there
will be!
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