Frankly, I’m shocked that there even exists a need to address such a fundamental topic.  Has anyone ever heard of Salvific Suffering?!  It is beyond my comprehension that any devout and/or informed Catholic Christian would actually believe that “suffering,” “illness,” or “disease” should, could or would be viewed as being the result of a lack of faith!  What an absolutely ridiculous idea!  I would expect such skewed theology from Protestants, but from Catholics?  Here’s a little challenge or homework assignment: read anything whatsoever on the life of practically any saint whomsoever.  You will very quickly realize that the lives of the saints were absolutely rife with pain, illness, suffering, disease, tragedy, and so on, and so forth.  The reason for this has to do with the spiritual axiom that the greater the level or degree of holiness and/or sanctification that God calls a soul to, the greater and more abundant will be the crosses and sufferings experienced by that soul.  Simply, the Lord uses suffering to detach persons from their own wills, thereby enabling Him to take greater and greater possession of the soul.  John the Baptist stated, “I must decrease and He must increase.”  It is precisely this that suffering accomplishes.  This is the great “secret” of sanctification, and, put simply, there’s no way around it.  Many have tried easier, softer ways; in short, they do not exist.  What’s more, I tend to be very wary of those “Charismatics,” who run around in an endless quest for “healing” of this and that, stating that God is a God of health and life, and that it simply is not His will that we should be sick. Please excuse me for saying this, but this line of thinking runs contrary to two-thousand years of solid, Church-approved theology.  Christ states quite clearly and unequivocally that “Whomsoever would come after Me must deny his very self, pick up his cross daily, and follow me.”  Moreover, St. Paul states that he “rejoices in [his] sufferings,” for, it affords him the opportunity to “make up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His Body, the Church.” But whatever is St. Paul saying?  Was not the Redemption of Christ perfect in itself?  Certainly, it was.  However, St. Paul is pointing out, in this most telling and essential passage, that God has ordained that we, who comprise the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, and who, as a consequence of our baptism, have been made sharers and participants in Christ’s three-fold office of Priest, Prophet and King, not only have the ability, but additionally, the obligation, as members of God’s Royal, Priestly People, to offer the spiritual sacrifices of our prayers, works, joys, and especially, our sufferings, through, with and in Christ, to the glory of God the Father, and in atonement for our own sins & the sins of our brothers and sisters.  Thus, through the offering of the unavoidable sufferings that God permits that we should endure, we can transform our own subjective experiences of pain and suffering, whatever form it may take (physiological or psychological), into opportunities to exercise concrete works of charity for our neighbor, especially when our neighbor has wronged us in some fashion; for, Christ does admonish us to “love [our] enemies; pray for those who persecute [us].”  It was precisely this understanding of the salvific value of suffering that gave rise to the old expression that numerous pre-Vatican II, Baby-boomer Catholics will undoubtedly remember their parents telling them: “Offer it up!”  Moreover, we are called to fully participate in the Sacred Liturgy, and it is precisely at the moment of the “Offeratory,” when the priest is preparing the gifts of bread and wine, that we are called to unite our spiritual sacrifices - our prayers, good works, joys, and especially our sufferings - to the host on the paten and the wine in the Chalice.  You’ll notice that it is also at this time that the ushers go around with the collection baskets, and the congregation makes a “sacrificial” offering in the form of a monetary donation to the parish, the Diocese, and all of the programs that are operated by the local Diocese. Thus, at this point in the Liturgy, we, God’s priestly people, are called to exercise this Royal, Common Priesthood in which we all participate by offering the various sacrifices of our lives: financial sacrifices and, even more significant, the sacrifice of our unavoidable suffering. Please don’t misunderstand; I am, in no way, shape or form, advocating in favor of suffering!  That would constitute sheer lunacy! Moreover, regardless of how zealous a Christian may be, it is never, ever advisable to ask God for suffering.  However, of those sufferings over which we have little or no control, this understanding of our participation in the sufferings of Christ does bestow meaning and purpose onto something that could otherwise, quite easily, be viewed as purposeless & meaningless, and could very well lead some persons into a state of psycho-spiritual hopelessness.  Thus, I believe quite strongly in understanding and promoting the dignity that Christ has bestowed upon human pain and suffering, specifically as these pertain to the exercise of the common, royal priesthood of our baptism.  The great Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor, Psychologist and founder of Logotherapy, the third Vienese School of Psychotherapy (after Freud and Adler) was fond of the following quotation, which I believe to be a perfect summation of this post: “He who has a Why to live for can bear with almost any How.”

Our dear Lord addressed this absolutely beautifully when he dealt with the man born blind, St. Celidonius.  I will always remember two Lents ago when I heard the Gospel read and it was as if every word seeped into my mind.  O Savior who is so kind to us even when we are unkind to each other and to ourselves.  Th epitome of kindness—no, kindness itself.  Himself.