“Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh and I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body which is the Church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.” Col 1:24-26
Amazing to think of it in this context and much easier to understand when we are told to “offer up our sufferings” for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ok, now you will ask, “Offer it Up?” Yes, we offer it up in order to unite our sufferings to those of Jesus, in order to complete the salvation that he indeed fulfilled on Calvary over 2000 years ago. When we join our suffering to His it gives us a sense of being complete within the mystery of the Mass.
I remember as a child asking why we kept the Crucifixes around the house. Like many or most Catholic children, I was told that it is to remind us of the suffering of Christ, the suffering He went through for our salvation. Well as an adult, I have learned that this answer is very true but it goes so much deeper and so much farther. The Crucifix stands as a reminder of all to His suffering and how important it is that we unite our suffering to His to participate in the mystery of salvation.
I understand that most of you who go on to read the rest of this post will ask, “How can we, just regular people; begin to compare our small suffering to those of our Savior?” Well I am not asking you to compare, I am asking you to unite yours to His, a very simple thing…
Is it not amazing how we shrink away from suffering of any kind in order to protect our own balance in life? Now don’t get me wrong here, balance in life is a great thing but sometimes we get thrown a curveball. Often our first reaction is to run away from anything that might cause us suffering, but what if its God trying to point us in a direction we never wanted to go. Yes, that is indeed possible, that through your own suffering God can bring you to a place where you may very well find that peace of mind that you have searched for all of your life.
Our suffering should be united with His in order that it may be used as a tool, a tool called redemptive suffering; that can become a weapon against evil in your life. Your suffering should bring you closer to the Father - not push you away. This is also how we come to share in the complete life of Jesus, His life, death and resurrection. Our suffering can become a death of sorts when we offer it up to God to do with it what He wills. We can then die to our own life choices and begin to do His will in its entirety. That for us is the beginning of a conversion to a a complete life in Christ! What a wonderful feeling….
That is what I have learned in my own battle with cancer and the suffering it brings. In the very beginning I was lost in my pain, trying to run away or blame it on something or someone who would take it from me. When I turned to God and was again (like so many times before) saved in Christ Jesus, I became a new creation of sorts. I have joined my pain to that of the world through our Lord.
You know, even your small daily sufferings can lead you to a place where you have never been before if you turn it over to God, offer it up and let Him guide you to a more comfortable place. Suffering as we all know is not just about physical pain, it’s about emotional pain as well and we all know that it can be very intense at times. We get hurt in so many different ways and many times, by the very ones we love the most. Some of the most intense suffering in my life has been more on an emotional and spiritual level. This pain can be extremely hard to overcome. The death of a loved one, divorce, addictions, incarceration and many more I have seen in my lifetime either directly or to someone very close to me. It hurts especially when you are unable to help. Yes, that’s when God comes in and we need to seek out His love and comfort. Now I have learned that when something starts to hurt or even bother me, I immediately need to turn it over to my Heavenly Father for His care. He never lets me down. I am not saying that the pain will leave you instantly, but sometimes pain is good for us and can be part of a process in which we come to understand healing more intimately.
I know that in the end what is often lacking is our willingness to unite our suffering to that of Christ’s suffering so that we may be made whole - thus uniting us to that mystical body of Christ. This is right where we need to be….
Bill K.
Ash Wednesday
2012
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