May 25,2012 Suffer in loving and then to love in that suffering
Learn to make Joys of all your crosses. We have only a single very brief life in which to suffer in lovingand to love in suffering: let us not lose a minute of it. John XXIII said on his death bed, “It is good to suffer in loving.” If we could regret anything in Heaven it would be to have suffered insufficiently here on earth --- the fruitful suffering, the glorious suffering, the cross of Christ.
Example: We are being kind and loving to someone, and unexpectedly they say something that hurts us, do we then in that hurt start to feel negative toward them, even though we can feel that pain right in the center of our stomach, or can we still love in that unexpected suffering that unexpectedly came upon us. Can we stay loving in our sufferings when somebody has or is causing us pain we can feel inside of us.
Do we start to imagine or try to think of bad things about them because they just caused us pain, whether they were right or wrong? Do we become cold toward them? Do we talk about them behind their back? Do we look for something hurtful to say back to them? …. Or do we watch our first movements and not let our mind go there so we can stay loving even though the pain is still in the center of our stomach and we can still feel it trying to lead us to get even with the person who hurt us? Christ loved in a way that is an example for us.
Therese of Liseux loved like that. She practiced on a crotchety old nun in a wheel chair that never appreciated her and was veryinsulting. In the spiritual life suffering can become sweet. With Therese her suffering became so sweet that she couldn’t suffer any more.
John of The Cross tells us the same thing. (Book 1 Chpt. 13:7) He says, If we embrace that which is repugnant to our will, (and what is more repugnant than pain caused us by others) and try to overcome it with order, discretion and love, we will discover great delight and consolation in it. He gives an entire list of maxims to practice but just this one for the moment is plenty.
We, as the early Christians did, unite our sufferings with Christ’s especially at the Consecration of the Mass (The Eucharist). We offer up our sufferings. Many of the martyrs said Eucharistic prayers before they were martyred.
But I am not only talking of offering up our sufferings, but taking it one step further. We are practicing love, or loving in our sufferings. Theresa of Avila talks about certain stages of prayer that might be experienced but she says that for its fullness love of neighbor must be perfect. (2nd commandment) HmHm – I think it is our neighbor that makes us suffer – oh well
Have fun practicing,