CHRISTIAN SUFFERING AND THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)
If there were an easy answer to the problem of pain, Jesus would have given it. Instead, he immersed himself in our suffering. He became a cosufferer with us.
St Paul accepted hunger, beatings, stonings, and imprisonment. In these sufferings, he felt Jesus enter his very being. “I have been crucified with Christ”, he wrote, “and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20). His experience has been repeated in the lives of saints for two thousand years.
How can anyone believe in a God who allows so much suffering, especially in innocent children? Some may deny God’s existence because they cannot understand the suffering of humanity- especially little children & the youth.
The mystery of Christ’s presence in those who suffer does not eliminate their pain, nor does it explain why innocent people endure affliction. But his presence is real, and somehow we must translate the mystery into life.
Mary is also a consoler, a cosufferer. Her presence at the cross was a consolation to Jesus as he was ridiculed by the people he had come to save. Her presence at Joseph’s deathbed brought him comfort and peace as he breathed his last. She has ministered to the suffering and dying for two thousand years. Out of this fact, experienced by innumerable Christians, has come the prayer, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
The blessed assurance in the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary is that we are never alone in our sufferings.
To Be Continued...
Mother Most Amiable, Pray for us!!!
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