On the threshold of Lent, it’s important for us to remember the oft-quoted line on redemptive suffering: “There is no crown without the cross.”

One of the greatest examples to me of suffering in silence was my mentor, Mother Angelica, who noted in The Healing Power of Suffering, “From the time of Adam and Eve, man has tried to escape suffering in any form. ... Men of today see it as an evil and try to avoid it, but it follows them wherever they go.”

Mother certainly did not avoid suffering; in fact, she embraced it and offered it for many things — her religious order, her network, her benefactors and even her malefactors.

Each of us has sufferings, big and little, that we can offer to God each day for a specific intention, not only during the penitential season of Lent. Perhaps there’s a family member who is away from the faith and needs a little nudge of grace, or maybe we know a person who constantly gets under our skin and we need to love them more. Perhaps there’s a physical ailment we need to offer up for the souls in purgatory.

“The suffering of this life not only can make our temperament more like the Divine Personality of Jesus,” Mother Angelica said, “but it detaches us from this world. This Divine preparation opens our souls to the working and pruning of the Father.” 

Let us thank God for Lent, the 40-day reminder of what’s truly important. Let us transform our lives this Lent, and beyond, by redirecting our suffering — and even embracing it — to grow closer to each other and thereby to Christ.

God bless you!