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Why Is There So Much Suffering?
Many people today ask, “If God is a God of love; why does He permit so much suffering?” From a purely natural point of view, this is a valid question. However, God’s view is supernatural and, as His followers, we are called to imitate Him. This is a huge challenge in our secular society, especially when it comes to suffering, as there seemas to be a concerted effort to eliminate all suffering. Why? Because our self-centered world cannot grasp the concept of sacrifice. Even the early Church encountered opposition to the whole concept of a Suffering Saviour. We read in l Cor. 23, “...here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.”
Along with a loss of faith and the loss of a sense of sin, there has followed a loss of understanding concerning the purpose and value of suffering. True, God is a God of love and when He created man, He did not create suffering. Suffering arose with the fall of man. What modern man sometimes forgets is that God then took this evil and turned it into something good. How is suffering good, some will ask. Simply look at the Crucified Christ whose suffering encompassed all human suffering and sin in a solitary act of love. No greater good could ever come out of suffering than the redemption of all mankind!!
I believe it was Bishop Sheen who said, “The tragedy lies not in the fact that man suffers; the tragedy lies in the fact that so much of man’s suffering is wasted.”
In reading the lives of the Saints, one discovers that all of them underwent great physical and/or emotional suffering; and we consider them to be chosen souls!
That does not mean suffering was any easier for them than for us. St Theresa of Avila once said, in frustration, “Lord if you treat your friends this way, no wonder you haven’t many!”
The truth is that we are all called to holiness. That is, we are called to strive to become as much like God as we can. Jesus said, “You must therefore be perfect just as my heavenly Father is perfect.”(Matt 5:48) He also said, “To have seen me is to have seen the Father.” (John 14:9) We have certainly seen that Jesus suffered. We also know why Jesus willingly suffered. It was out of Perfect Love for lost souls. So, if we are to be like God (even slightly) it only follows that we too must love souls so perfectly that we are willing to suffer for them. By His example, Our Lord Jesus, has taught us that suffering leads to redemption.
Some will argue that Christ’s suffering was sufficient. So was His love! Yet, these folks will not say that there is no need for us to love. Somehow, love and suffering are forged together. The greater our love is for someone, the greater is our desire to share, even bear, their suffering. How often have we heard a spouse or a parent say, “I wish I could take the pain for her/him?
The Catholic Church has always taught that there is redemptive value in suffering. In entry #1508 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Even St. Paul was told by the Lord: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12)
After asking three times to be healed, St. Paul came to understand that God, in His wisdom, saw that it was better if some folks relied upon His grace to help them through their suffering, rather than for them to be healed of it. They were being called to imitate Our Lord Jesus, by saying, “...if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you not I would have it.” (Matt 26: 39) In this, Our Lord taught us that it is okay to ask to be healed of our suffering; but we must be willing to offer our wills to God, that His perfect will may be done. God does not allow some people to suffer because He is some sort of sadist who enjoys seeing us in pain. He only allows suffering because He knows that a greater good can come out of it and He supplies each one of us with the grace we need to bear the pain.
We are called to offer our sufferings up to God out of love for souls and love for our Creator. When our suffering is born courageously, when it is united willingly and joyfully to Christ’s suffering, it suddenly has merit, for God will use our suffering in a profound way! With our physical and mental anguish, borne lovingly, we can help bear the burden of our neighbour, especially his spiritual ills, thus helping him/her embrace God’s mercy. That arthritic pain, united to Christ’s suffering, may just possibly help another soul rise above despair. There is power in suffering - God’s power! Suffering borne in this way is a grace, not a curse. Medical care is a gift from God and we must seek it, but we must do so prayerfully, and not look at it as an end in itself.
God uses suffering, offered to Him, to make restitution for the countless spiritual ills in our society today. Satan knows how powerful redemptive suffering is, so he works to convince people that suffering is a curse that must be avoided at all cost ... even by the taking of life!
God immediately forgives the sins we repent of and confess; however, the priest still assigns penance. Penance is a small way we can begin to make restitution for our sins. If we have harmed someone’s good name through gossip, they may be gracious enough to forgive us, and Our Lord will too, but the good name is not instantly restored. The consequence of our sin will remain. Therefore, we must bear the responsibility for that, and do all that we can to correct it. In so doing the one we have wronged benefits, but we benefit all the more for we make amends for our sins. Sin leaves a mark on our souls. Just ask a recovering alcoholic. He may have repented thirty years ago and been forgiven, but his body still bears the consequences of his sin. Therefore, even when sin has been forgiven, there remains upon the soul a stain, and this mark must be removed. It is this cleansing or purging that the Church refers to as Purgatory. The soul must be made pure and ‘perfect’ in order to enter into the Pure and Perfect Presence of God. God uses suffering, borne in love and joy and united with His suffer, to cleanse souls, and in fact shorten our Purgatory time and/or the Purgatory time of others.
Scripture tells us, “...there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.”(l Cor 13:13) Christ has shown us that Love cannot exist without sacrifice and suffering. They are grafted together on one stock, called sanctity/holiness. Spouses and parents can particularly attest to this fact. But, Christ has asked us to take it even further, allowing it to encompass our neighbour ... meaning all mankind.
As followers of Christ we are called to ‘die to self’. This causes suffering, as every little self-denial causes us pain. But, it is through such acts of virtue that one can grow in holiness and make reparation for sins. If giving up chocolate for Lent can benefit our soul or the soul of another, how much more can Cancer pain given to God for love of souls and for His Glory. Therefore, let us reclaim the rich grace of suffering and offer it humbly, even joyfully, and lovingly to Our Saviour; that He may do with it as He wills!
Our late Holy Father, John Paul II, taught us much about the grace of suffering borne out of love. What a shame it would be to waste such a treasure. As Christians, let us take back what has been stolen from us by a false concept of mercy. We can start today. Each day brings its own trials which can be offered up to God for souls. Each time we have a headache, we can bear it joyfully, and silently, offering it up to God, rather than popping a pill.
Suffering only remains an evil if it is wasted. If it is used for God’s purpose, it is not a curse, nor is it a badge to be paraded, in order to gain attention and affection. In the right context, suffering is a grace borne patiently for the love of souls. God permits so much suffering because there is a need for so much love in the world. He has given us His example. Let us not waste our suffering any longer!
Grace Devine Northern Ontario.
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