Can someone explain what "offer it up" means exactly?

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I feel like this is one of those concepts that seems to be pretty obvious to cradle catholics, and very much not obvious to those of us who are converts from protestant backgrounds. I recall the priest we had in the church I went through RCIA in trying to explain it, but it didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Spirituality is a lot harder to learn than theology!
 
Cradle Catholic here and it was never very obvious to me, either. I’ve learned a little (very little) about redemptive suffering since my childhood. I’m sure someone else can come up with something more cogent but here’s my 2 cents:

To ‘offer it up’ means to bind your sufferings with those of Jesus on the cross. Just as He offered His suffering for the salvation of the world, you can join your sufferings to His for the same end…the salvation of others.

To do this ‘offering up’ we just pray that the Lord will accept our suffering for our intention - the salvation of an individual such as our self or a friend, a group such as our family or the souls in Purgatory, or for the whole world. We can make this offering with our Morning Offering, in a way covering the sufferings of our entire day, or at the moment of our suffering. Even if we forget to offer our suffering in the moment we can take into account God’s Presence in the eternal now and offer sufferings of the past. God is good.

Be at peace.
 
I was taught that we offer our daily inconveniences and sufferings to Our Lord or sometimes to Jesus through Mary in reparation for our sins, the sins of others in the world, and/or for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. This makes our daily trials into a form of penance.

Many saints including St. Therese of Lisieux have done this and advocated it. Also, a major message of Our Lady of Fatima to the children was that they should do acts of reparation and offer them up to save souls. I know every time I complained about something as a kid like having to wait in a long line, Mom would say, “Offer it up.”
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I was taught that we offer our daily inconveniences and sufferings to Our Lord or sometimes to Jesus through Mary in reparation for our sins, the sins of others in the world, and/or for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. This makes our daily trials into a form of penance.
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I think this is where it gets confusing. Ok, offer your sufferings to the Lord? To someone like me, that doesn’t really mean anything that I understand. I know what it is to offer money or goods. I know what it is to offer time. Those are specific, concrete things I can do. But a general “offer up your sufferings” - I mean, they’re the same sufferings no matter what, in what sense am I offering something that’s different from just living my life?
 
We give it to God,something good comes from the hardship and suffering…it is still hard but it becomes something very good and positive …and productive too.Good for our soul and the ones we are offering up for.
 
DarkLight said:
But a general “offer up your sufferings” - I mean, they’re the same sufferings no matter what, in what sense am I offering something that’s different from just living my life?
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That’s the key - you ARE just living your life, which will include sufferings. But by offering them to the Lord, and also bearing them in reasonably good grace (like not complaining and not cussing out the driver who cut you off, etc) you are joining your little sufferings to Jesus’ great suffering and giving meaning to your sufferings and putting them to good use to help the world and other people.

In extreme cases you have people who feel or behave as “victim souls”, emulating Jesus by offering their great sufferings (usually some bad physical illness like cancer) to Jesus to atone for the sins of man and to save souls. There have been a number of saints and others on the path to sainthood who did this. Sure, they might have gotten the cancer or TB or whatever anyway, but they were seeing it as an opportunity to use it for good and be like/closer to Jesus.
 
Yes, they’re the same sufferings of your life, no matter what. When you consciously join your sufferings with those of Jesus you copy what St. Paul did when he wrote: " I Paul am made a minister. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for His body, which is the church"

Yes, however, you can offer up your suffering in general or specific sufferings: a paper cut, a bee sting, the tiny sting of humiliation when someone at work corrects you, the burn on your tongue when you take that first sip of coffee too fast in the morning.

We are asked to ‘put on Christ’, that is, to be like Him. He asks us to pick up our cross and follow Him. Offering up our suffering is a way to do just that, pick up our daily crosses and not just drag them around after us.

We are also asked to pray always. Offering up our daily sufferings is another way to do that, as well. Always turning to God when ‘bad’ things happen and making the best of difficult situations. How better to make the best of a paper cut than to offer that bit of pain for the Holy Souls in Purgatory?
 
Even if we forget to offer our suffering in the moment we can take into account God’s Presence in the eternal now and offer sufferings of the past. God is good.

Be at peace.
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I wasn’t really aware of that,that’s wonderful 🙂
 
The most excellent event in order to perform redemptive suffering would be the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Just a mental reflection of your participation at that event in Mass is a performance of redemptive suffering. And also the pious meditation of the crucifix.
 
Hey, don’t worry about it. Overthinking is what keeps theologians employed.
 
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Mary_Ellen said:
Hey, don’t worry about it. Overthinking is what keeps theologians employed.
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I have a graduate degree in philosophy. Unfortunately that hasn’t had the same luck in the “keeping employed” side of things.
 
As a for example, I am currently in hospital with a suspected kidney stone and have been in excruciating agony all night until they found the right pain relief. It did get to the stage of feeling horribly sorry for myself, but I managed to offer a lot of it for the poor souls, for my mother and her best friend, for my atheist father, for all souls most in need of His mercy. It didn’t take the pain away, but I did feel incredibly close to His heart.
 
Ow, that’s terrible. My father in law used to get those and it’s supposed to be some of the worst pain you can have. I’m sure you helped lots of souls but I hope you feel better soon.
 
JoyToTheWhirled said:
As a for example, I am currently in hospital with a suspected kidney stone and have been in excruciating agony all night until they found the right pain relief. It did get to the stage of feeling horribly sorry for myself, but I managed to offer a lot of it for the poor souls, for my mother and her best friend, for my atheist father, for all souls most in need of His mercy. It didn’t take the pain away, but I did feel incredibly close to His heart.
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I guess when I tried that…I just felt like I was trying to lie to myself, you know? Pretending to be some holy figure that I know I’m not, or that I don’t wish I knew some way to make sure it wouldn’t happen again, or that I don’t feel like I was cheated or am perpetually behind or something.
 
Oh I’m sure, as with everything there is a temptation to pride. But also as with everything, you have to have faith that what you are doing matters. It’s a trust thing, I suppose.
 
It means to give your sufferings to Jesus. To unite your sufferings to those of Jesus.
 
It also means bearing wrong patiently as Jesus did in the garden, in front of Pilate, and on the Cross.

So often we are quick to cry foul. Far worse happened to Christ.
Another way to “unite” ourselves to Christ, God bless you.
 
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