Image: The Passionist sign
Read more about the Passionists here.
Are you suffering? I am so very sorry to hear of your sufferings. It is during times like this that we can feel most lonely and even abandoned by God, but I have good news for you! It is during suffering that God is closest to you. Perhaps you have heard that before, but allow me to explain it to you in a way that may be new to you. Your sufferings actually have value to God.
There are two kinds of suffering in the world. Wasted suffering and redemptive suffering. Wasted suffering has no value. Redemptive suffering has value. We participate in the Redemption of the world when we offer up our sufferings in union with those of Jesus Christ in His Passion and death on the Cross. The only question is, which one will you choose? Wasted suffering or redemptive suffering?
Let me share some Bible verses with you that speak of redemptive suffering.
Everyone suffers at some point. What we do with our suffering is what matters most. In Matthew 10:38, we read that it is essential that we carry our cross with Jesus.
and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Suffering with Christ brings joy. In Acts 5:41, we read about the joy of suffering with Christ.
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16, we read that suffering of the body can renew our inner nature and is preparing us for heaven.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Suffering united with Christ’s can bring Christ to live within us. Galatians 2:20 says:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Your suffering can bring graces to others in the Church. Colossians 1:24 teaches us this:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
We receive graces also when we suffer persecution or are otherwise made to suffer on account of others. 1 Peter 2:18-19 says:
For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly.
In Romans 8:16-18 we learn that through suffering, we become “heirs” with Christ and our heavenly joy will be far greater than our sufferings were on earth.
[…][I]t is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
We read also in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1505):
Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the “sin of the world,” of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.
So, how does one offer up his sufferings? It is really very simple. You can say in your own words something like, “Lord, please use this suffering for the salvation of souls.” Another way is to make the Morning Offering each morning:
O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Amen.
Most importantly, at the Offertory during Mass, you can silently say, “Father, I offer up all of my sufferings of this week, in union with Jesus, for [state your intention here.]”
All sufferings should be offered up in a state of peace. This helps to transform your soul into the holiness that God has called you to be. We should always rejoice in our sufferings, as St. Paul said in his Letter to the Colossians (above).
I hope that you find all of this to be the same kind of blessing that it has been to me in my life. I was a Catholic for several years before I learned about redemptive suffering. Now, I am a Passionist Oblate Associate offering up my sufferings for the intentions of the Passionist Nuns. It has changed my life profoundly, and it has made my soul more pleasing to God. That is, after all, why we are here…to be pleasing to God.
Offer up your sufferings today, even if they are minor, but especially if they are major. You will find the grace to carry on…and so much more.
With Love in Christ Jesus,
Lisa
JESU XPI PASSIO
See also:
