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The
light of suffering
We
cannot eliminate suffering. It is when we attempt to
avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might
involve hurt, and try to spare ourselves the effort and
pain of pursuing truth, love and goodness, that we drift
into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost
no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and
abandonment is all the greater.
It is
not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we
are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it,
maturing through it and finding meaning through union
with Christ, who suffered with infinite love. Quoting a
passage from a letter written by the Vietnamese martyr
Paul Le-Bao-Tinh († 1857) “I, Paul, in chains for the
name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials
besetting me
daily. . . . The prison here is a true image of
everlasting Hell: to cruel tortures of every
kind—shackles, iron chains, manacles—are added hatred,
vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil
acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief.
But the God who once freed the three children from the
fiery furnace is with me always; He has delivered me
from these tribulations and made them sweet, for His
mercy is forever. In the midst of these torments, which
usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full
of joy and gladness, because I am not alone—Christ is
with me . . . . How am I to bear with the spectacle, as
each day I see emperors, mandarins and their retinue
blaspheming your holy name, O Lord, who are enthroned
above the Cherubim and Seraphim? Behold, the pagans have
trodden your Cross underfoot! Where is your glory? As I
see all this, I would, in the ardent love I have for
you, prefer to be torn limb from limb and to die as a
witness to Your love. O Lord, show Your power, save me,
sustain me, that in my infirmity Your power may be shown
and may be glorified before the nations . . . .
Beloved brothers, as you hear all these things, may you
give endless thanks in joy to God, from whom every good
proceeds; bless the Lord with me, for his mercy is
forever . . . . I write these things to you in order
that your faith and mine may be united. In the midst of
this storm I cast my anchor toward the throne of God,
the anchor that is the lively hope in my heart.”
This is
a letter from “Hell.” It lays bare all the horror of a
concentration camp, where to the torments inflicted by
tyrants upon their victims is added the outbreak of evil
in the victims themselves, such that they, in turn,
become further instruments of their persecutors’
cruelty. This is indeed a letter from Hell, but it also
reveals the truth of the Psalm text: “If I go up to the
heavens, You are there; if I sink to the nether world,
You are present there . . . If I say, ‘Surely the
darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light’—for
you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the
day; darkness and light are the same.” Christ descended
into “Hell” and is, therefore, close to those cast into
it, transforming their darkness into light. Suffering
and torment are still terrible and well-nigh unbearable.
Yet, the star of hope has risen—the anchor of the heart
reaches the very throne of God. Instead of evil being
unleashed within man, the light shines victorious:
suffering—without ceasing to be suffering—becomes,
despite everything, a hymn of praise.
The true
measure of humanity is essentially determined in
relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This
holds true both for the individual and for society. A
society unable to accept its suffering members and
incapable of helping to share their suffering and to
bear it inwardly through “compassion” is a cruel and
inhuman society. Yet, society cannot accept its
suffering members and support them in their trials
unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves.
And the individual cannot accept another’s suffering
unless he personally is able to find meaning in
suffering, a path of purification and growth in
maturity, a journey of hope. Indeed, to accept the
“other” who suffers means that I take up his suffering
in such a way that it becomes mine also.
Furthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the
sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential
criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and
safety are ultimately more important than truth and
justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then
violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice
must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or
else my life itself becomes a lie.
To be
continued next week ...
Spe Salvi Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI to all “On
Christian Hope”
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