"Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" - Song of Songs 6:10
9.3: SUFFERING IN THE MYSTICAL BODY (pg. 56 – pg. 58) Before you begin reading my allocutio, I invite you to first relax, recite an ‘Our Father’ and finish reading section 9.3 of the handbook.
After all of the above, I now invite you to read my allocutio and reflect upon it.
Suffering is not just a topic - it is an experience. Suffering is not just for human beings, but also the Son of God and His mother, Mary, Our Lady suffered. Furthermore, their suffering, compared to ours, is much more than we can endure. For this, I would like to ask: how many of us are suffering from our physical situation, especially for those of us who are older in age? How many of us are suffering spiritually and are eager to get out of this struggle? What about those of us who are suffering financially and economically? And how many of us are suffering from the crisis caused by the pandemic?
The handbook says that, "suffering is always a grace. When it is not to bestow healing, it is to confer power. It is never merely a punishment for sin. ‘Understand,’ says St. Augustine, ‘that the affliction of mankind is no penal law, for suffering is medicinal in its character.’ […] the passion of our Lord overflows, as an inestimable privilege, into the bodies of the sinless and the saintly in order to conform them ever more perfectly to His own likeness. This interchange and blending of sufferings is the basis of all mortification and reparation.”
Though suffering may feel negative and sometimes hopeless, it is an opportunity for us to heal, grow and come out on the other side stronger. As St. Augustine says, suffering is „medicinal in its character.“ What does medicine do, but heal our suffering. What happens when a child first learns to walk? They fall, and they do not just fall once, but many times. When babies want to learn how to walk, they will continuously fall until they are able to stand. It is through falling that they learn how to stand and then eventually walk. If we never experience suffering, whether it is something as seemingly simple as walking or as complicated as a pandemic, how do we learn from our suffering? How do we grow to better and stronger people?
St. Augustine says suffering is actually the Lord’s passion overflowing into us, giving us a chance, a privilege, for us to be more like Him. What did the Lord do? He suffered, died and was buried, but on the third day he rose again. If the Lord did not suffer mortification - being spat on, mocked, beaten and nailed to the cross - how could He forgive, die, and rise again? Suffering can be painful in the moment, but the Lord will not give us more than we can handle. Instead, see your suffering as a process of purification, just as gold is purified through fire. Most importantly, remember that there is hope and strength at the end of suffering. As it says in the Bible (1 Peter 5:10). And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.“
My dear sisters and brothers, let us offer up our suffering through prayer to Jesus’ wounds and His mother’s silence. Prayer will lead us to find God, love and hope in our suffering. May God bless all of us in His two loving hearts.