Sometimes, a little pamphlet, an old Catholic pamphlet can
make one’s day.
I picked up a pamphlet someone was getting rid of from 1998.
It is on “suffering”.
Here is a summary of the wisdom of Fr. Paul O’Sullivan,
O.P., who wrote this little gem. (My comments are in parentheses).
“Let us remember clearly that: 1) Sufferings come from God
for our benefit, (I add, all suffering is willed by God for our own good or the
good of others); 2) When we are in the state of grace, we derive immense merit
from every suffering borne patiently, even the little sufferings of our daily
lives (and I add that if one can endure little ones, one can endure the bigger
ones); 3) God will give us abundant strength to bear our sufferings if we only
ask Him, (ASK!); 4) If we bear our sufferings patiently, they lose their sting
and bitterness (takes practice, so God might give you more suffering if you do
not “get this” first time around); 5) Above all, every suffering is a share in
the Passion of Our Lord; 6) By our sufferings, we can free ourselves in great
part, or entirely, from the pains of Purgatory (one can ask to have one’s
purgatory on earth); 7) By bearing our sufferings patiently, we win the
glorious crown of martyrdom.”
I want to comment on two of the above points more at length,
especially in light of St. Angela’s book I
have been reviewing this past week. To
share in the Passion of the Lord is not only a necessity for attaining heaven,
but a privilege.
To be asked to suffer
with Christ seems to me a great honor.
Secondly, this idea of obtaining a crown of martyrdom is
found in several commentaries of the saints. I may write a post on this later.
However, to obtain a crown of martyrdom for suffering, one must be suffering for Christ, and not for our own sins.
We must do penance,
hence the purgation of the Dark Night, in order to be freed from sin.
Suffering over and above that penance is the sharing of the
suffering of Christ-a very different plane of suffering.
Although I am posting this on Monday, I am writing this on
Sunday evening, the end of the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Recall that God
the Father suffered with and because of His Son’s Passion. How fitting it is
that Father’s Day fell on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, for we have a Father
Who not only gave us His Son, but allowed Himself to be one with Him even in
the Passion.
To be continued…
