If you truly realize what life is about, you know it’s not a bed of roses not even for the rich. For many life can be downright difficult at times. It can box you in and beat you down, even to desperation. Many of us were ill-prepared for just how hard things could get. Never thought it would happen to you. When we go through repeated trials of failures and setbacks, getting through those tough times in life can seem unbearable. How are we supposed to manage, especially when we have little support from the people around us? How you will discover that so called friends will turn you down with excuses. If you’re going through a difficult time right now in your life, then my heart goes out to you. I sincerely feel for you because I am all too familiar with it. I know the heartache and pain that comes along with major failure, not to mention some humiliations. I can’t claim to know what you’re going through, wading through the seas of hopelessness, and may not be able to give the advice you are looking for; but what I will convey to you is what I have learnt and embraced in my life in order for me to cope with my difficulties and hopefully it will bring you some comfort and a sliver of hope. The Catholic Church sees human suffering as a chance to follow the example of Christ and believe that it is a part of God's plan. Reconciling our suffering and pain here on Earth for the love of Christ united with His suffering in His Passion and death on the cross, is meritorious. May I here below share with you some excerpts of a beautiful article by Bert Ghezzi which has brought me more meaning in my life with Christ. An Acceptance of Suffering We imagine that God’s promise of blessing means that he will spare us all pain. But it doesn’t work that way. Jesus made suffering a normal part of the Christian life. He promised his disciples multiple blessings, but tacked onto the end of the good things he said they could expect was a promise of suffering: “There is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land—and persecutions too—now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). So suffering is not an option for Christians. It’s a guarantee. At the root, the word suffering means enduring pain or distress, sustaining loss or damage, being subject to disability or sickness, and ultimately submitting to death. It comes in all shapes. Daily nuisances frustrate us. Repeated failures discourage us. Bills we cannot pay pressure us. A disintegrating relationship racks us. Depression defeats us. Violence wounds us or harms a loved one. Illness ravages us or overtakes a family member. Suffering afflicts everybody.” “Jesus not only promised suffering; he also made bearing personal crosses a daily requirement for all of his followers (see Luke 9:23, NIV). Making the sign of the cross proclaims our yes to this condition of discipleship. When we sign ourselves we are taking up our cross and accepting whatever suffering comes our way. With that ancient gesture we are saying that we welcome suffering on God’s terms. And we are subordinating our will—that would rather not endure pain—to God, just as Jesus subordinated his will to his Father when he gave himself to the cross. So tracing Christ’s cross over our body has serious consequences. It builds character,” we say. “I don’t want character,” says the sufferer. “I want relief.” Then come the inevitable questions (from those who do not fully comprehend what is suffering): “Why does God let bad things happen?” and “Where is God when it hurts?” The care that good parents give their children suggests answers to both above questions. God is like just like a good father. He lets us navigate our way, but he stays alongside us. He does not prevent bad things from happening because he wants us to learn to deal confidently with hardship. But when we suffer, God scoops us up in His arms and stays with us. He shares our pain, sustains us, and consoles us. That’s the message of the cross, and signing ourselves opens us to hearing it. God’s only Son became a man in Jesus Christ. In his human nature, God himself suffered rejection, humiliation, ridicule, abandonment, buffetings, scourging, crucifixion, and death. He embraced suffering as a man so that he could comfort us in our suffering. When we make the sign of the cross we invite the Lord to join us in our suffering. We touch our forehead and move down to our breast, telling the Lord with this gesture that we want him to bend down to us. Then we cross our shoulders in a movement that asks him to support us—to shoulder us—in our suffering. In many psalms, David sings of taking refuge beneath the Lord’s wings, which the Church Fathers understood as a prophecy of our finding safety in the shadow of his crucified arms (see Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7). The Lord’s outstretched arms pledge that he understands our suffering and shares it with us. Today we see the cross clearly as a sign of God’s mercy and consolation. I take advantage of the grace and support the Lord offers me with his outstretched arms. When trouble strikes, I sign myself often, saying, “Lord, scoop me up in your everlasting arms, carry me through this trial, and comfort me.” Strengthened by his response to that simple gesture and prayer, I find the hardship endurable. What beautiful edifying words of consolation to realize in our life and to bring to mind when trials and sufferings come upon us. Knowing this we could turn sufferings to our benefit I.e. by accepting the sufferings He sends us and in prayer, offering them in union with His sufferings, we receive the greatest rewards. The Saints’ lives teaches us that if we patiently bear our sufferings, we merit the crown of martyrdom. Moreover, suffering borne patiently brings out all that is good in us. If we bear these facts clearly in mind, it certainly becomes much easier to suffer. When God gives us any suffering, He does not give us more than we can bear. Through prayer we can ask Him for the strength to bear it. Many, who do not have such knowledge nor pray, get excited and revolt in their tribulations. Sadly many out of ignorance or lack of the knowledge of a life in union with Christ’s sufferings, bewailing their sufferings and impatience really make their suffering harder to bear. Such agitations increases our sufferings a hundred-fold and robs us of all the merit we could have gained otherwise. How is it that some people pass through a tempest of suffering with the greatest calm and serenity? It is the knowledge of how Christ suffered patiently, while being falsely accused yet He answered not one word, and the practice of uniting one’s suffering with Christ, in prayer, as described above that one can have the calm and patience. It is the secret of happiness amidst trials. Then one would also understanding and appreciate the meaning of the following quotes which help enforce the calmness and patience in a Catholic’s life.
As Catholics, we have to confess and do penance for our sins to obtain God’s forgiveness. Uniting our sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus Christ, we are doing the easiest and best penance we can perform which may deliver us entirely from Purgatory while at the same time gaining great graces and blessings.
Catholics remember clearly that:
In addition we have a great, great remedy in our hands, that is, prayer. Prayer can be defined as talking to God, but it is much more than that. Prayer is an act of worship that glorifies God and reinforces our need for Him. Through living a life of prayer, we respond to Christ's work of salvation and communicate with the very source of and purpose for our existence. Therefore we should pray earnestly and constantly, asking God to help us in our sufferings, to console us, or if it pleases Him, to deliver us from suffering. We, in all our troubles, should above all pray to Our Lady, the Rosary,which she taught to St. Dominic. We should ask her, by the abundance of her sorrows during the Passion of Our Lord, to help us. God gave her all the immense graces necessary to make her the perfect Mother of God, but He also gave her all the graces, the tenderness, the love necessary to be our most perfect and loving Mother. No mother on earth ever loved a child as Our Blessed Lady loves us. Therefore, in all our troubles and sorrows, let us go to Our Blessed Lady through the Rosary with unbounded confidence. As Catholics we are thankful that our faith, our love and trust in God brings us such consolations such as what has been elaborated here to enable us to bear the trials of this life. We wish and we pray that more people could share in this same life and find the consolation and the strength to bear whatever tribulations come their way. God be blessed and thanked. |
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AuthorAn artist, entrepreneur, a loving family man, 30 years a Catholic traditionalist upholding traditions for the love of God. Shop for Catholic giftsArchives
January 2024
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