Colossians 1:24

[Brown10985]

Hi, not really sure how to interpret this passage
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.” - Colossians 1:24

Responses would be great

God Bless
Brian

 

[Todd_Easton]

I hope this helps…

In The Navarre Bible: New Testament in the Revised Standard Version with a commentary by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Compact Edition (Scepter Publishers: 2001), in the commentary on pages 513-514, concerning Colossians 1:24, it says:
We can cooperate with God’s plan not only by our actions and our prayers; our sufferings also play a part, and they give us a share in Christ’s own suffering. “The man who suffers …] in the spiritual dimensions of the work of redemption brings about, as Christ did, the salvation of all his brothers and sisters” (John Paul II, Salvif. dolor., 24).
In the Explanatory Notes of the same book on page 698, concerning Colossians 1:24, it says:
what is lacking: Christ’s sufferings were, of course, sufficient for our redemption, but we may all add ours to his, in order that the fruits of his redemption may be applied to the souls of men.

 

[Didi]

True.

It is not Christ’s suffering that is lacking, it is ours. We are called to be like Christ in all things, including suffering. If Christ is the Head of the Church and we are the body, we must also carry our cross and suffer for our brothers and sisters. So, we can offer any affliction we have for a specific intention, or for the general intention of all souls.

Bishop Fulton Sheen used to say that there was so much wasted suffering on earth. If only we would learn join our sufferings to those of Jesus and offer them to Our Father for the salvation of souls, much good would occur in the souls of others.

Mother Teresa used to tell her sisters “Love until it hurts. It hurt Jesus to love us.”