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Why Must We Suffer?

This is the question that many of us have asked and that has echoed down through the ages...

Life is good. Happiness, Comfort, Peace, and Joy are preferred states of being for most of us. Yet we cannot ignore the reality of suffering and pain in the world and in our own lives. Some of us experience incredible sufferings whether they be physical, mental, and/or spiritual. While some of us are given little sufferings everyday to bear.

Though I do not think it is fair to simply say suffering is a part of life...so deal with it, I do believe the answer to the question of "Why Must We Suffer?" is not quite so difficult. It becomes more of an issue of accepting and embracing the answer.

Ultimately, it is Jesus Christ who answered this question over two thousand years ago:

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24

In Luke's gospel, Jesus says:

"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently ties discipleship with the cross. So what does the "cross" signify? I think the answer to this question lies in the Gospels and in the lives of the disciples of Christ.

First, let us look to Christ. He took up his cross under extreme suffering and carried it, uphill, amidst a jeering crowd, in excuriating pain, to his death. So it is clear that Jesus is wanting to make this parallel between discipleship and suffering. Think about it...Jesus was speaking to his disciples before His crucifixion. Most of them must have been familiar with the cross, it was the most widely used tool for capital punishment at the time. The disciples must have been thinking "What in the world is He talking about?", and yet they were silent. I'm sure the moment they witnessed Jesus carrying the cross His words came rushing back to them. No wonder they hid in the upper room in fear afterwards. It took Jesus coming to them, breathing on them, conferring His peace upon them, and, ultimately, sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost upon them to conquer the fear of suffering. It was this fear that prevented them from truly following Christ and proclaiming His truth to the world.

Now we reach our second point, the lives of Christ's disciples. They suffered greatly, but gladly, for Jesus Christ and the spreading of His Church. Think of the Twelve, all were martyred except John the Beloved, yet his life was likewise full of suffering. Throughout the centuries many have suffered and died for Christ and the Catholic Faith. In fact, it has been reported, that there were more Christians martyred in the 20th century than all other centuries combined. Throughout the centuries, the saints have embraced suffering as a friend and companion, not only understanding the words of Christ but internalizing them.
St. Therese of Lisieux once wrote:

The Cross has accompanied me from the cradle; but then, Jesus has made me love it passionately. IX Letter to her Missionary "Brothers"

Then again:

Yes, I desire them, those heart-thrusts, those pin-pricks that give so much pain...Sacrifice I prefer to all ecstasies: therein lies happiness for me, I find it nowhere else. The little reed has no fear of breaking, for it is planted on the shore of the waters of Love; and so, when it bends, that beneficent wave invigorates it, and makes it long for another storm to come and bow down its head anew. My weakness it is that makes my whole strength. Whatever happens I cannot be broken; I see only the gentle hand of Jesus. To win the palm no suffering is too great. III Letter to Mother Agnes of Jesus

St. Josemaria Escriva once wrote:

Don't complain if you suffer. It is the prized and valued stone that is polished. Does it hurt? Allow yourself to be cut, gratefully, because God has taken you in his hands as if you were a diamond. An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that. Furrow pg. 96

The Cross is present in everything, and it comes when one least expects it. But don't forget that, normally, the Cross comes when you start to be effective. Furrow, pg. 102

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians wrote:

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his ressurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11

So again, we see, in the writings of the saints, the value, better yet, the necessity of suffering. We also see the necessity to embrace it, as Christ embraced the Cross so many years ago. Therefore, let us embrace the sufferings we receive each day, learning from them, allowing them to make us grow in spiritual maturity, and, more importantly, in love. The way is not easy, but the reward is everlasting.

Amen.