By Chaplain Mike
Doggone it! I hate when life gets in the way of blogging!
This week’s “Friday with the Fathers” has morphed into “Saturday with the Fathers.” Our consideration of The Epistle of Barnabas will be posted tomorrow afternoon.
Until then, consider this Lenten quote from Joan Chittister from her wonderful book, The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life
“Suffering is not a punishment,” Robert Ingersoll wrote, “it is a result.” Suffering, as we learn to go, is the price we pay to bring life to fullness, both for others and for ourselves. It is not to be desired in a neurotic kind of way, but it is definitely not to be denied. For when we refuse to suffer, we refuse to grow. Suffering requires us to stretch our souls to the boundaries of personal growth. It brings to the surface in us both strengths and weaknesses we could never, in any other way, know we have. It is not about surrendering ourselves to pain left devoid of meaning. It is about finding meaning in the center of the self whatever the stresses around us.
…If we are really meant to follow Jesus, then we must follow Jesus into every dimension of life, including into the suffering that is the price of it. We must look closely at how He handles each moment of life, what He expects in every situation, whom He helps, whom He chides, what He holds out as the ideal. Indeed, the life of Jesus is not a monument to the past; it is an invitation into the fullness of our own futures.
The Internet Monk Archives 
Two things.
1.
Syme sprang to his feet, shaking from head to foot.
“I see everything,” he cried, “everything that there is. Why does each thing on the earth war against each other thing? Why does each small thing in the world have to fight against the world itself? Why does a fly have to fight the whole universe? Why does a dandelion have to fight the whole universe? For the same reason that I had to be alone in the dreadful Council of the Days. So that each thing that obeys law may have the glory and isolation of the anarchist. So that each man fighting for order may be as brave and good a man as the dynamiter. So that the real lie of Satan may be flung back in the face of this blasphemer, so that by tears and torture we may earn the right to say to this man, ‘You lie!’ No agonies can be too great to buy the right to say to this accuser, ‘We also have suffered.’
“It is not true that we have never been broken. We have been broken upon the wheel. It is not true that we have never descended from these thrones. We have descended into hell. We were complaining of unforgettable miseries even at the very moment when this man entered insolently to accuse us of happiness. I repel the slander; we have not been happy. I can answer for every one of the great guards of Law whom he has accused. At least—”
He had turned his eyes so as to see suddenly the great face of Sunday, which wore a strange smile.
“Have you,” he cried in a dreadful voice, “have you ever suffered?”
-G.K. Chesterton, The Man who was Thursday
2.
She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. Her halls are the west of West, upon the borders of the world; and she comes seldom to the city of Valimar where all is glad. She goes rather to the halls of Mandos (death), which are near her own; and all those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength the the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom. The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, Valaquenta
(The theme of suffering bringing wisdom is a persistent one in Tolkien’s works. It is especially strong in The Lord of the RIngs)
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“I am now in a family care situation with a loved one in a constant state of pain. There may be no reason why; in this case, there is no way I would call it “God’s willâ€. But I think we still can follow Mary in saying, “Be it unto meâ€. God is our refuge in the midst of pain, NOT the passive or active cause of it. Without this truth firmly in ones grasp, all pain is unbearable.”
Amen dumb ox amen. I have been in and out your shoes caring for my better half for about 14 years of our 23 year marriage… We both have been unraveled into great levels of despair because he has had times of unrelenting pain. And we keep making it through. Yes, God is our refuge, though I seem to know that in hindsight, now that we are in a pain-free season. He is more like Christ than anyone I know, strong, tender, full of grace & humility. He was on the ski team at University of CO years ago… That might give you a picture of his past good health… The disease stole 10 inches from him, bent him over making him look far beyond his years… We are just out of the woods of the hardest year and a half… I hold dear your words here, and am praying as I type for you & your family.
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I especially love that second paragraph! Being relationally formed in the Eternal Story of Jesus Christ! This is so much better than my tiny self contained story where I am nauseatingly the central character.
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The rest of us ignorant, unsophisticated souls pray,
“God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.”
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Suffering and grace are evil words to we decendence of modern/post modern liberalism. They imply passivity, rather than declaring one the master of his or her own destiny. Grace and suffering imply weakness, a dependence upon God. In suffering, we will wait in hope of God’s invasion into our lives to rescue and save, rather than helping ourselves. Suffering is unsophisticated and supersticious. Enlightened minds need not suffer, because every source of pain can be remedied through wisdom, principle, hard work, or positive thinking.
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It makes me think of Mary, who experienced unimaginable suffering – the piercing of her heart, as Simeon prophecied – at the foot of the cross. Saint Bernard goes so far as to call this her martyrdom. All this began with Mary’s fiat, her willing acceptance of the angel’s announcement.
I know we usually are not greeted by an angel or given an option to express our consent before experiencing pain. Usually the pain just appears. I am now in a family care situation with a loved one in a constant state of pain. There may be no reason why; in this case, there is no way I would call it “God’s will”. But I think we still can follow Mary in saying, “Be it unto me”. God is our refuge in the midst of pain, NOT the passive or active cause of it. Without this truth firmly in ones grasp, all pain is unbearable.
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oh very funny Ray!
I like this quote also and must admit that I have been thinking about suffering a lot the last year or so… why might you ask?
Because I find myself in a place of physical suffering. I could write a book about all the ideas swirling around in my head about why I am suffering (but I wont :O) . I know asking the “why” is not the right question. I will say that sometimes it is hard not to believe that I have done something wrong or am being punished by God. Do we believe that all things pass through His Hands before they come to us? I think I do and so, I find it hard to always believe that God is good and loving and kind. My mind knows this but at times my body betrays me. Just letting my mind travel on this road is making me weep, so I will quit for now.
Many blessings and thanks for this subject… looking forward to the other comments this post brings.
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If we are really meant to follow Jesus, then we must follow Jesus into every dimension of life, including into the suffering that is the price of it.
Oh. I guess that means I need to stop whining about it then, huh? 😉
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That is a good quote. We apply such negative connotations to suffering, but suffering is positive and active. It is a choice of love. Both suffering and humility have lost their original meanings.
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Profound!!!
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I love that quote!
Although it is still hard for me to embrace suffering.
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