How does redemptive suffering work?

[ltravis]

This is a hard question to phrase. I know and live according to the idea of redemptive suffering. I have tough times in my life and am overjoyed that they can help others. Also, our Lady of Fatima said many people go to Hell because people don’t pray for them. All that said, how does it work? How does it actually help people out of hell? When someone dies, does God look at other people’s intercession at judgement time and award them more “points” or would it be more correct to say our sufferings and prayers persuade God to send more grace amd gifts of the Spirit to people so it is easier to repent and turn their lives around? I want to think it is the latter because it doesn’t seem right that an unrepentent sinner can sneak in simply because of other people’s suffering or prayers. So, what is the answer?

LT

 

[lkopteros]

My understanding of what I’ve been taught is that once a soul is in hell it can’t leave but we can help the souls of pergatory get into heaven then they in turn help us. I offer my suffering for others so that they might suffer less. I offer my suffering for others and I hope it helps prevent them from suffering. I offer it to the souls of pergatory in hopes they may get to heaven, They need our prayers and anything we can do for them. Jesus suffered so that we could have eternal life He suffered for us, we in turn suffer for others and also share in His suffering. I read how when we suffer we help complete His suffering or something to that effect. Personally, when I suffer I try to stay close to Jesus in His suffering, kind of like we’re suffering together, He suffers for us while I suffer for the souls of pergatory or someone I’ve been asked to pray for. If His suffering gave us all the chance to share in His Glory then why shouldn’t we share in His suffering? But like His suffering, it is for others.

 

[ltravis]

Thanks, Ikop. That clears the suffering part up. I should have known that. Now, what about the quote from our Lady saying many souls go to hell because people don’t pray for them. That must be something different, because it is not about purgatory, but one’s very salvation. Should I assume (if I take this statement of private revelation to be true of course) that it merely means people on earth would be bound for hell but that the prayers of others cause God to give them grace to repent? I think I remember Fr. Corapi saying something like people in mortal sin lack even the grace to reach God in repentence, but it is the prayers of others that empower them. That sounds pretty good to me, I think.

LT

 

[Traditional_Ang]

ltravis, lkopteros & whoever else is reading this:

Pope John Pual II wrote an encyclical on the subject of Suffering in General and Redemptive Suffering in particular:

Salvifici Doloris - On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering
vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html

I would advise anyone dealing with this subject to read this Apostolic Letter and to ponder it. It’s not easy reading, but this is the text yyou will want to read.

For those of us who suffer physical pain, it’s a comfort to know that we can offer it up for the sake of the souls in purgatory, or that those who need it might be brought to repentence, or that priests and other clerics would be protected, or for our own spiritual welfare and that of those we know and love.

In the Spiritual War we are involve in, that can be a powerful weapon in that war.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael

 

[StCsDavid]

Christ gave us the ultimate sign of His love through His passion and death. While he suffered for humanity as a whole, He also suffered for you as an individual. When we have suffering in our lives, we can either turn inward, or we can align ourselves with Christ and say essentially, “Use this suffering on behalf of a soul in purgatory or someone still on Earth who needs some help.” I don’t claim to know the physics of it; however, my opinion is that it’s kind of a perpetuation of the love Christ showed us on the cross. While we may not understand this mystery, there was obvious efficacious redemptive value to His suffering for us. It makes sense then that we learn from that and offer our suffering for others instead of keeping it for ourselves.

As to the souls in Hell…they’re there. We can’t help them; however, we can help the folks on Earth who haven’t died but are on the highway to Hell. I believe those are the people Our Lady was speaking of.

 

[JMJDevotee]

I suffer from fibromyalgia. I have found great joy in that suffering knowing that when I offer my sufferings up for those in need of mercy, God hears me and uses it. I used to think that this suffering was to teach me a lesson…you know to pray more, do more for others, have more faith. It wasn’t until I came into the Church that I began to understand this gift.

Here is my “prayer”

“Immaculate Heart of Mary, I love you. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love you. I offer my suffering for those in need of mercy. Amen”

It has become like a mantra of sorts.And even though the pain does not diminish, I feel better.

I am trying to teach my kids this lesson. It is so important for them to understand. And my favorite catch phrase to my kids is “Suck it up and offer it up.”

Pax Vobiscum

 

[ltravis]

I suffer from fibromyalgia. I have found great joy in that suffering knowing that when I offer my sufferings up for those in need of mercy, God hears me and uses it. I used to think that this suffering was to teach me a lesson…you know to pray more, do more for others, have more faith. It wasn’t until I came into the Church that I began to understand this gift.

Here is my “prayer”

“Immaculate Heart of Mary, I love you. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love you. I offer my suffering for those in need of mercy. Amen”

It has become like a mantra of sorts.And even though the pain does not diminish, I feel better.

I am trying to teach my kids this lesson. It is so important for them to understand. And my favorite catch phrase to my kids is “Suck it up and offer it up.”

Pax Vobiscum

That’s really inspiring. I can’t imagine going through your struggles, but when I have my own difficult times, I say the divine mercy chaplet and it really gets me through. For anyone who is interested in the potential value of suffering, you don’t need to look any further than the Audrey Santo story.

littleaudreysanto.org/Little_Audrey_story.htm

LT

 

[Traditional_Ang]

I suffer from fibromyalgia. I have found great joy in that suffering knowing that when I offer my sufferings up for those in need of mercy, God hears me and uses it. I used to think that this suffering was to teach me a lesson…you know to pray more, do more for others, have more faith. It wasn’t until I came into the Church that I began to understand this gift.

Here is my “prayer”

“Immaculate Heart of Mary, I love you. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love you. I offer my suffering for those in need of mercy. Amen”

It has become like a mantra of sorts.And even though the pain does not diminish, I feel better.

I am trying to teach my kids this lesson. It is so important for them to understand. And my favorite catch phrase to my kids is “Suck it up and offer it up.”

Pax Vobiscum

JMJD:

Thank you for your “Testimony” and your suggestion. I have a painful spinal condition coupled with a pair of arthritic hips that have, between those and some other things, made it impossible for me to do any real work.

You won’t believe how often I’ve felt absolutely useless, unneeded and unwanted. Oftentimes, I felt that being able to offer up my suffering has often been the only thing I was able to do.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael