Christians Can’t Bypass Suffering

What a tragedy if, at the end of my days when I stand before God, I finally realize that I spent my earthly life playing religious games, deluding myself into believing I had lived in real communion with Christ. Our life in Christ is authentic when we are able to receive His transforming Love and then allow this Divine Love to flow through us as we love and serve others.

Life in the Spirit

According to the  Catechism of the Catholic Church, Man’s first, most important vocation in life is to live the Spirit. Fortunately, the sacraments are like an open door to this new life:,

What faith confesses, the sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become “children of God,” “partakers of the divine nature.” Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life “worthy of the gospel of Christ.”They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.

Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord. Following Christ and united with him, Christians can strive to be “imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love” by conforming their thoughts, words and actions to the “mind . . . which is yours in Christ Jesus,” and by following his example. ( CCC 1692, 1694)

Although we ARE united to Christ by Baptism and are dead to sin, to participate fully in the life of the resurrected Lord in our day-to-day lives, we must first be purified. The process of purification usually involves suffering because we are mortal, human, full of pride.

Suffering

I have not really written very much about my pain, the struggle to raise nine kids with little money, and endless chores on a hobby farm. I only really write about the joy of mothering. A friend pointed out to me the other day that I never really talk about the long, dark periods in my life. I guess it is because joy always triumphs eventually; I tend to forget about the painful years, the years of suffering. The love of little people, strong tea, laughter, and the presence of God in the midst of chaos seems to crack anxiety and stress, but yes, I have been shattered by the demands of mothering.

I once asked a priest what my life would have been like if I had not experienced this suffering but had married a well-off dentist, had 1.25 kids, and lived in an efficient, modern house. He put on a phony, pious face, put his hands together in prayer, and said in a high, mocking voice, “Oh, you would be a nice Christian lady, praising the Lord.” What he meant by that amusing bit of acting was that I would be shallow, without depth and strength.

If this is the situation, I say bring on suffering, because I want—no I need—to live in reality. I can think of nothing worse than to die and discover that I had deluded myself, simply living happily on the surface, eating, drinking, doing chores, sleeping, and yet missing out on the core reality of what it means to be fully alive, fully human, in relationship to other people and to God.

God always manages to use those moments when I am shattered to crack my heart and soul open to more of His presence and healing. It is like childbirth; the pain is forgotten when I hold my newborn. If there is no pain, no suffering, there is no baby or new growth in the Spirit.

Look at a Butterfly

I can compare my struggles to conform to Christ with a butterfly struggling to emerge from its chrysalis. If I feel sorry for a poor butterfly as it struggles to emerge from its cocoon, he will either die or be left with damaged wings.  The only way a butterfly can strengthen its wings is by beating them against the cocoon so its’ muscles will grow. When you help it, you prevent it from getting strong enough to fly. “Turns out their ‘struggle’ is key to their development” (Rock. Paper. Scissors).

While it may be tempting, while it may sound like a good idea on the surface, neither us nor the butterfly can skip the icky stuff, the rumble.  There’s no bypass, overpass, or underpass – we gotta go through the rumble to develop our wings and fly.

Similarly, our struggle to be reborn in Christ is not pretty and is not fun. The spiritual struggle “strengthens us, builds our muscles, helps our wings expand, and ultimately lets us fly”. (Rock. Paper. Scissors).

Listen to His Voice

For me, God speaks through books, as well as my spiritual director, and the written word. He has often changed my life through these “tools”, flipped an inner switch by bringing insight and clarity. I then realize that each difficult stage in mothering is normal, not a big deal, because all mothers go through similar experiences. So I am not going through a dramatic or unusual crisis. I can see each difficult stage as a call from God to change and grow by going deeper, accessing the strength of the Holy Spirit within my own heart.

It takes perseverance, prayer, the sacraments, and grace to die to self and conform our thoughts, words, and deeds to Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive passion.” (1505)

The saints offer words of encouragement, cheering us on as we run the race.

Do not fear, I will make you suffer, but I will also give you the strength to suffer,” Jesus tells me continually. “I want your soul to be purified and tried by a daily hidden martyrdom”. . .”How many times,” Jesus said to me a little while ago, “would you have abandoned me, my son, if I had not crucified you (St. Pio of Pietrelcina).

To the prospect of the Kingdom of God is linked hope in that glory which has its beginning in the Cross of Christ. The Resurrection revealed this glory — eschatological glory. … Those who share in the sufferings of Christ are also called, through their own sufferings, to share in glory (St. John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris).