The Other Dimension of Suffering

I have really been drawn to the lives of the saints lately. It amazes me how much they were willing to suffer and offer up that suffering, but even more so, how they were able to use their suffering as a way to unite themselves to Christ. 

I don’t pretend to suffer nearly as much as many others do, but one day I had a pretty bad headache. It was making me cranky and I stepped into our home office for a quiet moment of prayer. As I closed my eyes, I asked Jesus to unite me to Him through that small suffering. For a split second, I envisioned my head as Jesus’ head, covered with the crown of thorns, dripping with blood. I realized then and there how small my headache really was. 

Suffering is a funny thing. It can make us so unhappy, downright miserable at times, yet there is a whole other dimension to it. When I was a kid, my parents often told me to “offer it up”, when I grumbled about this, that or the other thing. At the time, it seemed like a flippant way to get me off their back. But as an adult, I see the real merit in offering up our hardships for a special intention. Suffering in and of itself is torture, but united with Christ, becomes a means of sanctification. Afterall, it was through His suffering that the gates of Heaven were opened to us once again. 

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Both of these great Apostles suffered tremendously for their faith, yet chose consistently and persistently to follow the Lord. Peter suffered persecution, imprisonment, temptation and ultimately death by crucifixion, which the Lord foretells in the Gospel: “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” But perhaps the greatest pain he endured was the guilt from denying our Lord. Paul suffered beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks and illness as well as the emotional pain of mockery and false accusations. But perhaps the greatest pain he endured was the guilt from persecuting so many Christians before his conversion. 

These two great men both teach us the same thing. God can transform suffering and use it for His glory. The whole of Christianity was built upon the courageous endurance of these and so many others who literally gave their lives to spread the Gospel. Their chains have allowed us to know true freedom in Christ. The shedding of their blood has shown us what it means to truly live. Their sufferings, endured with patience and love, teach us how to suffer gracefully. 

So the next time you get a headache, remember all those saints who have gone before you, and unite your sufferings to the One who has suffered so greatly out of love for you.   

By Tami Urcia