Alleviation of Suffering

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

meltzerboy

New member
There was at least one thread on this topic a while back, but I’m still not entirely clear about it. Based on my understanding, an individual’s suffering is, according to Catholic teaching, a cross they are given to bear as Jesus bore His cross. At the same time, however, Catholicism believes in the alleviation of suffering. How are these two teachings reconciled? Are we mainly to alleviate OTHER people’s suffering and less our own? In that case, however, are we not also eliminating their crosses which, otherwise, they might have had the opportunity to offer up to G-d? If someone could clarify this for me, I would be very appreciative.
 
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a5.htm

This may be the thread to which you refer.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=10710
**
“My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully developed, complete, with nothing missing**.” [James 1:2-4] “So, even those whom God allows to suffer must trust themselves to the constancy of the Creator and go on doing good.” [1Peter 4:19]

From letters of St [Padre] Pio

**“It is not a loss of patience if one asks Jesus to take away pain, when this becomes insupportable to us and beyond our strength, nor does one lose the merit of the suffering which is offered, by asking this of God.”
“Pray that God will console you when you feel the burden of the Cross, for in doing so you are not acting against the will of God, but you are placing yourself beside the Son of God who asked His Father during the Agony in the Garden to send Him some relief. But if He is not willing to give it, be ready to pronounce the same ‘fiat’ that Jesus did.” “When least you are expecting to be liberated, Jesus, who cannot bear to keep you long in affliction, will come and relieve and comfort you, giving you new courage.” **

Quite often in our lives it is not God who has placed many of the crosses that we bear,
it is the burdens we bear as consequences to choices we make in our lives,
and also as consequences of the unwise or uncharitable choices of others as they impact on our lives.

Knowing that, at one stage I wrote the following prayer which may or not be useful to anyone:
Self made crosses

Loving God, I want the burdens I carry be only those that You intend. Let self-made crosses no longer weaken me for genuine crosses that You permit! Lift from me those crosses that I construct out of fear, doubt or self-accusation. Free me of those I subconsciously build in desire for appreciation and love. Free me from crosses of mistaken sense of mission.
I want to accomplish the mission that You intend for me. Please grant that it will be so.

Free me from the errors of trying to carry and solve others’ problems where it is only my task to offer understanding, prayer, and what help that I can actually offer. Otherwise, in sleeplessness and anguish, I carry a cross of impracticality and helplessness that leaves me worn out, aiding no one. Yet inspire me to undertake, powerfully and sensitively, any means of genuine assistance to others.

Help me to recognize my areas of personal weakness or scarring that otherwise lead me to behave in ways unhelpful to others and myself. Fill me with the Holy Spirit’s prayer for them.

Please give me wisdom, faith, and charity to overcome tendencies and habits that impede me from Your service. Thus I, unhindered, am impelled to You in everything, in cooperation with the graces You desire to flood through my being at every instant, however secretly. Then, I am free, and I rejoice! For by Your mercy alone, my life is centered in You God, in self no longer!
 
Suffering isn’t good in and of itself. We can sanctify our suffering by bearing it patiently, allowing it to teach us compassion, allowing it to unite our sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus and so forth. We offer our suffering, united with the sufferings of Jesus, to the Father.

Suffering can also lead to sin, however. If we don’t suffer well, blame others, turn purr back on G_d, become bitter, then it is worse than if we head never suffered.

We can certainly try to alleviate our own suffering. Jesus asked that His suffering be removed in the Garden of Gethsemane. But, he embraced the Father’s will, and suffered well.

Alleviating others’ suffering is charity, and we should always try to do this insofar as we are able. We can’t completely remove it, and it doesn’t change their merit just because we shared the burden.
 
meltzerboy said:
There was at least one thread on this topic a while back, but I’m still not entirely clear about it. Based on my understanding, an individual’s suffering is, according to Catholic teaching, a cross they are given to bear as Jesus bore His cross. At the same time, however, Catholicism believes in the alleviation of suffering. How are these two teachings reconciled? Are we mainly to alleviate OTHER people’s suffering and less our own? In that case, however, are we not also eliminating their crosses which, otherwise, they might have had the opportunity to offer up to G-d? If someone could clarify this for me, I would be very appreciative.
Click to expand...
As Catholics, we believe that we should sanctify our suffering and indignities. This doesn’t mean that we can’t work to alleviate our suffering and the suffering of others.

Jesus died for our sins on the cross and we are called to be like Him. He also healed the sick and spent time with the outcasts in society. We are called to imitate this behavior as well.

As one who had frequent epileptic seizures for 12 years - I can tell you that suffering is not easy. Neither is lack of dignity.
But it can be an experience that leads you closer to God. And to a better understanding of other people’s suffering.

Peace be with you… 🙂
 
Thank you, Trishie, littlenothing, and AdamPeter, for your informative posts. You’ve all answered my question regarding suffering from the Catholic perspective very well.
 
Can you tell us about suffering for the Jewish perspective? Surely there are similarities, but taking Jesus out of the picture there would also be differences.
 
meltzerboy said:
There was at least one thread on this topic a while back, but I’m still not entirely clear about it. Based on my understanding, an individual’s suffering is, according to Catholic teaching, a cross they are given to bear as Jesus bore His cross. At the same time, however, Catholicism believes in the alleviation of suffering. How are these two teachings reconciled? Are we mainly to alleviate OTHER people’s suffering and less our own? In that case, however, are we not also eliminating their crosses which, otherwise, they might have had the opportunity to offer up to G-d? If someone could clarify this for me, I would be very appreciative.
Click to expand...
Example #1: Hunger is a suffering. We are called to take care of our bodies as best we can, so we try to eat healthy. In doing so, we try to alleviate the suffering of hunger.

When we suffer, physically, emotionally, spiritually, we are supposed to try and alleviate our suffering in a healthy and moral way. If we are sick, we go to the doctor and take medicine. If we are sad, we try to think positively to not stay depressed.

If despite all of our efforts, we continue to suffer (an incurable cancer, for example) then we can suffer patiently. Always, we must surrender to the will of God.

I forget which saint said this, I think it was St. Augustine, but:

“Take care of your souls as if you were going to die tomorrow. Take care of your bodies as if you will live forever.”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top