Comments on: Monday, September 6, 2021 Filling Up What Is Lacking

By: Mary Ortwein

Mary Ortwein — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 22:45:16 +0000

I much appreciate your comments today. Lots of good thought within them. We struggle together to figure it out.
Mary Ortwein

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 15:33:46 +0000

Hello Mary. I am very appreciative of this reflection on a difficult, perplexing issue of the suffering of Jesus and suffering in general! I struggle with this issue profoundly both the why and the redemptive aspects. I of course like all of us do not began to understand the theodicy of God. I am very much like Job in my confusion. And the answer to Job , where were you when I created…. doesn’t answer concretely for me the issue of sufferings it remains a mystery. However the answer does provide me with a sense, albeit very incomplete of the immensity of God. So thanks for your wonderful contribution to this powerful essence and mystery

By: John J Ciribassi

John J Ciribassi — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 14:43:48 +0000

This is a tough topic and you, as usual handled it so well Mary. Very thoughtful with great references. After I read your reflection I read one by Father Burke Masters of the diocese of Joliet, Illinois. What I think I took from both of you is this. When we suffer we can respond in two broad ways. We can bemoan our suffering doing all we can to relieve it while excluding Christ in the process. Or we can embrace the suffering, having trust that the outcome is all part of God’s plan for us. In either case the world, our world, will see our response. The first displaying our removing ourselves from God’s plan and relying on ourselves. The second response shows those watching how Christ remains our center…always. It has been said that the growth of the church comes through its martyrs. While our suffering may not lead to martyrdom, it still gives us the chance to show the world that God endures in us through all things and at all times.

By: SES

SES — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 13:42:18 +0000

Mary,

Thank you for your reflection. I am fascinated by the topic of suffering and have listened to a number of talks on it by Catholic apologetics, including one by Dr. Scott Hahn, “Making Sense Out of Suffering”. Dr. Hahn said that that the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to recreate Jesus Christ’s life within us – Christ’s birth, baptism, SUFFERING, death, and resurrection. Because of that, as St. Paul notes in Colossians 1:24, Dr. Hahn and others talk about how we have been called to participate in the redemption of the world and become like Jesus when we suffer.

So, when we “offer it up” (i.e., offer up our suffering to the Lord), we need to ask Him to use it for redemptive purposes so that we are united with Him, we can participate in the redemption of the world, and He can bring relief to those who are suffering.

In his talk, Dr. Hahn tells the story of St. Pope John Paull II and a priest, who went to see the Pope about a pain in his leg that he had. The priest asked the Pope to pray for him so that the pain could go away. The Pope told the priest not to waste his suffering.

Jeff Cavins, a Catholic apologetic, tells a story about St. Teresa of Avila in one of his talks, “15 Things to Do in the Midst of Suffering”:

“One day, St. Teresa of Avila was travelling to one of her convents. She was knocked off her donkey and fell into the mud, injuring her leg. ‘Lord,’ she said, ‘you couldn’t have picked a worse time for this to happen. Why would you let this happen?’

“And the response in prayer that she heard was, ‘That is how I treat my friends.’

“Teresa answered, ‘And that is why you have so few of them!'”

Whoa!

Lastly, and I know I am long here, I want to share a quote on suffering by St. Teresa of Calcutta:

“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus – a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.”

I heard the talks by Dr. Scott Hahn and Jeff Cavins on CDs that can be found on Lighthouse Catholic Media’s website.

God bless you, Mary.

By: JME

JME — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 13:24:35 +0000

Mary, thank you. Suffering is so hard to understand in relationship to joining it with Jesus. You brought some clarity along with more questions. This is a topic that so many of us need to better understand. I’m especially intrigued by the thought that “NOTHING is fully evil, for suffering with Christ’s love, always rises. Love offered always triumphs”. That truly gives God’s light to the world.

By: TR

TR — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 13:16:48 +0000

Easy to read, hard to live. Thank you for the time and energy you put into writing.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 12:57:15 +0000

The meaning of suffering is very hard to understand when you’re living it and see people ravaged by disease who are dying a painful death and diminished as human beings. This is a painful subject but one that is important to an aging population in particular. Thank you for taking on such a challenging theme. Blessings.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 12:46:47 +0000

I have struggled with comprehending this concept. I will likely continue to, but I sense a diminishing of the fog after reading your thoughts just now. Thank you.