The Cross and Suffering
- By Anne Van Tilburg
- Published 11/14/2008
- Catechism
-
Rating:
Saint Paul learns from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church."
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1508.
God permits mental Crosses, like worries, fear, anxieties, to make us feel His absence. If our love of goodness does not draw us to Him, at least our weariness will throw us back to Him. He permits physical Crosses, like sufferings, to make us feel His Presence. Sickness forcibly draws us away from the world and its pleasures, and makes us realize that His scarred hands cannot touch us without leaving wounds. One of the greatest tragedies in the world is wasted pain. Pain without relation to the cross is like an unsigned cheque - without any value. But once we have it countersigned with the Signature of the Savior on the Cross, it takes on infinite value. A feverish brow that never throbs in unison with a Head crowned with thorns, or an aching hand never born in patience with a Hand nailed on the Cross, is sheer waste. The world is worse off for that pain when it might have been so much better.
All the sickbeds in the world, therefore, are either on the right side of the Cross or on the left; their position is determined by whether, like the thief on the left, they ask to be taken down, or, like the thief on the right, they ask to be taken up. It is not so much what people suffer that makes the world mysterious; it is rather how much they miss when they suffer. Must not the chisel cut away the marble to bring out the form? Must not the seed, falling to the ground, die before it can spring forth into life? Must not the little streams speed into the ocean to escape their stagnant self contents? Must not grapes be crushed that they may be wine to drink, and wheat ground that there may be bread to eat?
Why then cannot pain be made redemptive? Why, under the alchemy of Divine Love, cannot crosses be turned into crucifixes? Why cannot chastisements be regarded as penances? Why can't we use a cross to become God-like? We cannot become like Him in His Power; we cannot become Like Him in His Knowledge. There is only one way we can become like Him, and that is in the way He bore His sorrows and His Cross. And that was with love.
"Greater love than this no man hath, than a man lay down his life for his friends." It is love that makes pain bearable. Never ask; "What did I do to deserve the Cross?" If God the Father permitted His Divine Son to feel the agonies of Calvary, it must be, that crosses fit into the Divine Plan.
If your cross is mental, change your behavior, confess your sins, and make peace with God. If your cross is physical. offer it up in union with Our Lord on the Cross for the conversion of the billion souls in pagan lands, who know neither Our Divine Savior nor His Blessed Mother. There is a price tag on every soul; every soul costs something. Some souls are bought by prayers; others are bought through kindness of alms; some are bought only through prayer and fasting; but most of them are bought the way Our Lord Bought us, through pain and suffering. Everyone in life has a cross of one kind or another, without exception; what makes a cross unbearable is trying to carry it without Our Lord. As soon as we regard suffering not as an enemy, but as a sign of God's love and an opportunity to save a soul, suffering becomes a joy.
Pain is hard to bear when we have no one we love. We mind less the loss of a sum of money if a starving person found it. If we love God and love souls, then the cross becomes sweet. Suffering is against nature, but through the supernatural grace of Our Lord, we can accept what our nature rejects. Do not feel that suffering is an obstacle on the road to Heaven, it can be the road itself. To help another person physically, you must be present to that person. To help another person spiritually, you do it through Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Be a Missionary! Offer the pains in your hands and feet in union with the pierced Hands and Feet of Jesus, for the conversion of souls. Offer the aches in your head in union with the Crown of Thorns for the conversion of the world. Offer the agonies of your body in union with the Scourging, for the scourge of abortion. Offer your open wounds in union with the pierced side of Christ for all priests. Offer the torture and worry of an operation in union with the Crucifixion for the luke-warm.
Don't let pain go to waste! Save a soul, and you will save your own! (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen)
Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His Cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of Bread, but few to the drinking of th Cup of His Passion. Many admire His miracles, but few follow Him in the humiliation of His Cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them. Many praise and bless Him, as long as they are receiving comfort from Him. But if Jesus withdraws Himself, they fall to complaining and utter dejection.
The Imitation of Christ.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1508.
God permits mental Crosses, like worries, fear, anxieties, to make us feel His absence. If our love of goodness does not draw us to Him, at least our weariness will throw us back to Him. He permits physical Crosses, like sufferings, to make us feel His Presence. Sickness forcibly draws us away from the world and its pleasures, and makes us realize that His scarred hands cannot touch us without leaving wounds. One of the greatest tragedies in the world is wasted pain. Pain without relation to the cross is like an unsigned cheque - without any value. But once we have it countersigned with the Signature of the Savior on the Cross, it takes on infinite value. A feverish brow that never throbs in unison with a Head crowned with thorns, or an aching hand never born in patience with a Hand nailed on the Cross, is sheer waste. The world is worse off for that pain when it might have been so much better.
All the sickbeds in the world, therefore, are either on the right side of the Cross or on the left; their position is determined by whether, like the thief on the left, they ask to be taken down, or, like the thief on the right, they ask to be taken up. It is not so much what people suffer that makes the world mysterious; it is rather how much they miss when they suffer. Must not the chisel cut away the marble to bring out the form? Must not the seed, falling to the ground, die before it can spring forth into life? Must not the little streams speed into the ocean to escape their stagnant self contents? Must not grapes be crushed that they may be wine to drink, and wheat ground that there may be bread to eat?
Why then cannot pain be made redemptive? Why, under the alchemy of Divine Love, cannot crosses be turned into crucifixes? Why cannot chastisements be regarded as penances? Why can't we use a cross to become God-like? We cannot become like Him in His Power; we cannot become Like Him in His Knowledge. There is only one way we can become like Him, and that is in the way He bore His sorrows and His Cross. And that was with love.
"Greater love than this no man hath, than a man lay down his life for his friends." It is love that makes pain bearable. Never ask; "What did I do to deserve the Cross?" If God the Father permitted His Divine Son to feel the agonies of Calvary, it must be, that crosses fit into the Divine Plan.
If your cross is mental, change your behavior, confess your sins, and make peace with God. If your cross is physical. offer it up in union with Our Lord on the Cross for the conversion of the billion souls in pagan lands, who know neither Our Divine Savior nor His Blessed Mother. There is a price tag on every soul; every soul costs something. Some souls are bought by prayers; others are bought through kindness of alms; some are bought only through prayer and fasting; but most of them are bought the way Our Lord Bought us, through pain and suffering. Everyone in life has a cross of one kind or another, without exception; what makes a cross unbearable is trying to carry it without Our Lord. As soon as we regard suffering not as an enemy, but as a sign of God's love and an opportunity to save a soul, suffering becomes a joy.
Pain is hard to bear when we have no one we love. We mind less the loss of a sum of money if a starving person found it. If we love God and love souls, then the cross becomes sweet. Suffering is against nature, but through the supernatural grace of Our Lord, we can accept what our nature rejects. Do not feel that suffering is an obstacle on the road to Heaven, it can be the road itself. To help another person physically, you must be present to that person. To help another person spiritually, you do it through Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Be a Missionary! Offer the pains in your hands and feet in union with the pierced Hands and Feet of Jesus, for the conversion of souls. Offer the aches in your head in union with the Crown of Thorns for the conversion of the world. Offer the agonies of your body in union with the Scourging, for the scourge of abortion. Offer your open wounds in union with the pierced side of Christ for all priests. Offer the torture and worry of an operation in union with the Crucifixion for the luke-warm.
Don't let pain go to waste! Save a soul, and you will save your own! (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen)
Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His Cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of Bread, but few to the drinking of th Cup of His Passion. Many admire His miracles, but few follow Him in the humiliation of His Cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them. Many praise and bless Him, as long as they are receiving comfort from Him. But if Jesus withdraws Himself, they fall to complaining and utter dejection.
The Imitation of Christ.