The key to finding meaning in suffering is 小蓝视频 close to God. 鈥淣othing is wanting to him who possesses God,鈥� said St Teresa of Avila. 鈥淕od alone suffices鈥�. Being close to God means joy!
In Breaking into Joy Anne Costa says: 鈥淛oy does not depend upon our circumstances. It comes from God and cannot be reduced by suffering or hardship.鈥� About suffering, Costa says, 鈥淗ow we choose to think about things is always within our control.鈥�
In 鈥淐arrying our cross鈥� theologian Ron Rolheiser shares Jesuit James Martin鈥檚 insights into suffering. In Jesus, A Pilgrimage Martin suggests that taking up our cross daily and giving up life in order to find deeper life means six interpenetrating things:
First, it means accepting that suffering is a part of our lives. Accepting our cross and giving up our lives means that, at some point, we have to make peace with the unalterable fact that frustration, disappointment, pain, misfortune, illness, unfairness, sadness, and death are a part of our lives and they must ultimately be accepted without bitterness.
Second, taking up our cross and giving up our lives, means that we may not, in our suffering, pass on any bitterness to those around us鈥� This does not mean, as Martin points out, that we cannot share our pain with others鈥� there鈥檚 a healthy way of doing this, where our sharing leaves others free鈥� Jesus groaned under the weight of his cross, but no self-pity, whining, or bitterness issued forth from his lips.
Third, walking in the footsteps of Jesus as he carries his cross means that we must accept some other deaths before our physical death, that we are invited to let some parts of ourselves die鈥� If we live in adulthood, there are a myriad of other deaths that we must undergo before we die physically.
Fourth, it means that we must wait for the resurrection, that here in this life all symphonies must remain unfinished. The book of Proverbs tells us that sometimes in the midst of pain the best we can do is put our mouths to the dust and wait鈥� So much of life and discipleship is about waiting, waiting in frustration, inside injustice, inside pain, in longing, battling bitterness, as we wait for something or someone to come and change our situation.
Fifth, carrying our cross daily means accepting that God鈥檚 gift to us is often not what we expect. God always answers our prayers but, often times, by giving us what we really need rather than what we think we need. The Resurrection, says James Martin, does not come when we expect it and rarely fits our notion of how a resurrection should happen. To carry your cross is to be open to surprise.
Sixth, taking up your cross and 小蓝视频 willing to give up your life means living in a faith that believes that nothing is impossible for God鈥� It鈥檚 only possible to accept our cross, to live in trust, and to not grow bitter inside pain if we believe鈥n the Resurrection.
The Book of Wisdom 3:1-9 tells us that the souls of the just are in the hand of God who uses their suffering to refine them like gold in a furnace, then gathers them as a sacrificial offering. The joy of the resurrection follows life鈥檚 suffering.
Taking up our cross daily and living in joy is something we can choose. It beats any of the alternatives.
