None of us can avoid suffering or death. This complex body of ours can withstand extreme situations with nary a bruise, but sooner or later it is going to undergo suffering and eventually death—which is always looming in the future.

Way to be a downer, Barb!

Hang on, truth be told, there is good news and the possibility of eternal bliss. We are made for heaven, and this life with all its challenges is the journey we each must make.

We are a body-soul composite. Made in the image and likeness of God means we have intellect and will to make good choices. Choosing to suffer is the stuff saints are made of, and I’m not there yet.

Suffering is not always physical.

When someone you care about undergoes strife, illness, or even death, it is possible to suffer with them. Think of our dear Mother Mary at the foot of the Cross as she stood by Jesus for hours.  While she was not the one on the Cross, she was the one who suffered greatly due to the love of the One hanging there.

The age-old question of why a loving God would allow suffering is rarely answered adequately to satisfy, especially when we are the ones in misery.

“Suffering is present in the world in order to release love, in order to give birth to works of love towards neighbor, in order to transform the whole of human civilization into a “civilization of love.”

John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, 30

I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve experienced it.

Foremost was Christ, who gave the ultimate gift of His Body on the Cross.  His suffering brought about our salvation. Good can come from suffering. It is obvious when we imagine giving birth to a child, all that pain yields a new life. Jesus, on the Cross shows us what love looks like in and through His body. He suffered physically and in the depths of His Heart.

For humanity.

Love is more than warm fuzzy feelings, or the constantly perverted, Love is love. This cheap, pithy, and empty catch phrase is devoid of the sacrifice required for authentic love. Comparing the love I have for my kids to the “love” I have for chocolate is, in fact, ludicrous and absurd. It’s preposterous to think that we love everything equally, which would empty love of its transformative power and meaning.

Suffering perfects love.

I would go so far as to say it also proves love, as in gold, which is refined in fire.

We suffer in and through our bodies. Conversely, we enjoy life fully through our bodies. Even our senses raise our capacity to utterly encounter life in all its fullness.

How blessed we are for the gift of our body and mind. When was the last time you thanked God for this priceless gift?

Love enlarges our capacity to suffer. The greater the love,
the greater the willingness to suffer.

In my own experiences of suffering, I have learned over time, to bear them out of love, to offer up everything out of my control and give it back to the Lord for His purposes. I do not do this perfectly; it is a process of reminding myself constantly that there is a rationale known only to God, yet somehow benefits me or another. I am beginning to understand this by continuing to make a gift of my suffering to God. It is one of the few ways I can give God something who needs nothing.

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

By intentionally offering our suffering as a unique gift to God, we also benefit by imitating Christ. How? By His free assent to suffer on the Cross, taking our place, and pushing love past the limits we place on it. When we say yes to what is asked of us, giving our whole selves, body and soul, into this salvific work God asks of us, we release love into the world.

Wow!

Cooperating with grace as willing instruments, contributes to the monumental work, thus benefitting humanity by simply letting LOVE use us as a conduit to supply love where it is needed most.

Never underestimate the power of suffering or the gift of your body. Don’t be afraid to suffer. Let the river of love pour forth from each of us, in and through our bodies, transforming not only us but the whole world.