The Mystery of Suffering 

   Everyone wants to go to heaven, but we all see the path differently.  Some expect there to be some pain and sorrow along the way while others seem to think that faithful Christians should be exempt from such trials and wonder why God allows them to suffer.  It is a mystery that we will never quite grasp in this lifetime.

   In reading the lives of the saints I find many of them considered themselves blessed to experience pain and suffering.  They regarded it as an opportunity to share in the agony and death our Lord suffered on our behalf.  Some received the stigmata, physical evidence of the wounds of Christ upon their own body.  None complained but instead welcomed the pain and suffering, considering it a blessing to share in Christ’s suffering.

   Many have been martyred rather than deny their faith.  Most were severely tortured and died a horribly painful death.  They too seemed happy to offer their life for Jesus.  No amount of pain or agony could convince them to renounce their faith.  Some continued to praise God all through their sufferings, dying with a peaceful smile upon their faces.

   Most of us will never experience such pain or torture.  We will not be crucified, drawn and quartered, or burned at the stake.  However, we will have times of pain and sorrow in our walk of faith.  These trials can be an opportunity to turn to Christ and offer our sufferings to Him, to share in some small way in His passion and death.

   In a world that is broken and full of evil, we cannot avoid times of pain and sorrow.  But in all our trials and tribulations we have a merciful God who will not allow us to suffer beyond our ability.  For strength and perseverance, we can look to St. Paul who wrote, “I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.” (Romans 8: 18)

 

Father, in our pain and sorrows, help us always turn to You for mercy and the strength to endure.  Amen.