For What It's Worth by Erin

“Christ could have saved the world by his miracles, but He chose to save the world by his suffering.”

Fr. Dave mentioned suffering at daily Mass last week. He pointed to the first verse in the 1 ^st reading from St. Paul: “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…” Do we rejoice in suffering? Why does St. Paul say this?

Fr. Dave then pointed to St. Paul’s answer in the rest of the verse, “...and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of the body, which is the Church.” What can be lacking in the suffering Jesus endured and how can we participate in that?

Have you heard the term “redemptive suffering”? St. Paul’s verse, quoted above, is the beautiful definition of what redemptive suffering is. It’s suffering borne for another. Redemptive suffering happens when human suffering is offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus. Another saint, Pope John Paul II, said it this way: ”Each man, in his sufferings, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.”

When we unite our suffering with Christ, we participate in the redemption of the world! When offered to God, no suffering is meaningless or wasted. You know the expression, “Offer it up”? Let’s use our sufferings, small or large, for something bigger. Join our sufferings with the those of Jesus, and put them to good work, saving the world. +