103 posts 10/5/2006 9:53 pm
Last Read:
10/9/2006 7:40 am
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Our Lady of Lourdes...the Christian meaning of pains and suffering.
II. The Christian meaning of pains and suffering.
Our Lady had a clear message in mind when she appeared in the grotto. She wanted to remind humanity of the need for conversion and penance. Our Mother wanted to emphasize that all souls had been redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. She also spoke of how we can be co-redeemers with Christy through our pain, suffering and voluntary mortifications.
What humanly speaking might be considered a great tragedy might in fact be a great good when considered with eyes of faith. Sickness, poverty, pain, failure, scandal, unemployment ‒ each of these problems can lead us to God. With the help of grace, we can find in each of these problems true humility since they make us so dependent on God. Sickness can help us to be much less tied to the things of the earth. We recognize our need to depend on God’s loving providence, to fortify our supernatural hope.
Sickness helps us to trust more on God, to put god’s power above our meager effort. Because of our divine filiation, we should develop a sense of confidence that God will never let us down. He is fully aware of our strength and weaknesses. He will never ask us to do more than we can handle together. Sickness is a good opportunity to put into practice that wise maxim of Saint Augustine: do everything possible and ask for what is impossible.
The true test of love is for us to accept sickness and death itself according to the will of God. We ought to give up our life as an oblation and sacrifice for Christ for the good of his Mystical Body; the Church. Our pains and suffering lose their bitterness when they are elevated to Heaven. Poenae sunt pennae ‒ hardships are the wings, so goes the old Latin saying, Sickness can serve as the wings which will permit us to rise up to God. How great is the contrast between a person who accepts their illness with faith and humility and someone who reacts to infirmity with resentment and grief!
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In CONVERSATION
with God
Volume 6
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