Offering Up

[Augustine]

I’ve been thankful for my life and timidly asked the Lord for suffering. Not a martyrdom, but a suffering I could bear without losing faith, one that would strengthen my faith, a la St. Augustine.

Well, I asked, now I got it: my wife doesn’t agree with me on how to raise our children. It’s causing me great pain seeing this wedge between us.

It is a relatively small suffering, but I’d appreciate the Lord’s help and consolation. I’ve heard a lot about offering up, but I don’t really understand what this means or entails. Could someone please shed some light?

TIA

 

[threej_lc]

Someone once told me that anyone who prays to God for patience or suffering has a lot of guts… because they are going to get it. There is tremendous grace and power in suffering, even in minor suffering, and God is very pleased when someone steps forward to let him work his glory in this manner through them.

So let me commend you on your prayer, and thanking you for offering yourself as a sacrifice for all of us other sinners out there.

“Offering it up” is something that’s so simple its hard to understand. From a very basic perspective, it can be considered an appeasement, like sacrifices in the jewish covenant. Instead of offering a life or something of value, you’re offering your emotions, feelings, time, happiness to God as a sacrifice. Which, as we know, is just as valuable to us as a goat, and usually moreso.

Furthermore, we see how Christ’s sacrifice of his will, and offering his suffering up to the father redeemed all of humanity, we take strength in knowing our own personal suffering can therefore, by the grace of God, do great things when we offer it up to the father OUT OF LOVE.

So to offer up something, it is simply to follow Jesus’s example. We don’t have to like what we’re going through, we don’t have to be happy about it. But we look at it as a way to love and serve God more. We do it submissively out of love, with hope for what God promises in the end. We give it to him as our work of love for him.

Josh

 

[system]

This “offering it up” business is relatively new to me. It has become a bit of a catch phrase, you seem to hear it all over now. Either I was asleep in CCD on the day they talked about it, or it’s a new idea.

I don’t quite follow the reasoning that every little problem, every little annoyance in life should become a “sacrifice” pleasing to God. Nope, I just don’t get it.

 

[threej_lc]

Its not every little annoyance that we offer up that is pleasing to God. Its that through all the little annoyances in life, we remain faithful and loving to God, without wavering our belief in his goodness. It is our complete giving and trust of ourselves to him through these times that please him, not the times themselves.

Situation 1:
You are married. You and your spouse have a perfect life and never have any problems, any disagreements, you are in complete union of opinions. You can know you love eachother, but the depth of the love has never been revealed or given situation to increase.

SItuation 2:
You are married. You get sick for 6 months, lose your job, kid is a delinquent. Your spouse, although noticably distressed, supports you in everything and does everything they can to help you and comfort you.

Although the bad situation itself isn’t pleasing, your spouses fidelity and ability to look at your love as stronger then any hardship is pleasing to you, and strengthens your relationship in the end.

So it is with us and God.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Tcj, it has been truly said that “everything old is new again”.
As a product of Catholic elementary school of the 60s, “offering it up” was routine. Spill your milk? Clean it up, don’t buy another, and “offer it up” for the starving children in Africa. Unfair accusations made against you? Don’t defend yourself, (but don’t falsely lie and admit to something you didn’t do, just remain silent), bite your lip, and “offer it up” as Christ did when he was scourged and beaten.

As for your “don’t quite follow the reasoning that every little problem, every little annoyance in life should become a “sacrifice” pleasing to God. Nope, I just don’t get it.”/. . .

here’s an idea. Why SHOULDN’T we be offering sacrifice to God? Why shouldn’t we be offering Him praise–and YES, for “every little problem, every little annoyance”. Our sacrifice DOES become a praise offered in this way.

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Right?

Now, obviously there are going to be some who have the wrong ideas about the whole thing, some who go overboard, etc. That doesn’t mean we invalidate the idea because of what “might happen”. Heck, we’d never get anything done or said if we considered that “somebody” somewhere sometime somehow might not “get it right”.

Good catechesis is part; good example another.
Some people here are very much partisans of the rosary, some of other chaplets. Some don’t think they are needed at all. In fact, nowhere is it written that “Thou shalt say the rosary once daily”. . .but it IS written “I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me”, as well as “Honor thy father and thy mother.” And saying the rosary for some might be their way of praising the Lord our God; for some it might come under honoring our father and mother. Personal devotions are, well, personal. Whatever draws us closer to Jesus and is clearly mandated or approved by our Holy Mother Church is good, but we are not all forced to pray only ONE prayer. What we do is pray our MANY (approved) prayers to the ONE God, IMO.

I recommend that you read St. Thomas a Kempis’ book, “The Imitation of Christ” for some good ideas about living for Christ, with some old-fashioned (but apparently becoming fashionable again) ideas about sacrifice. I think you would find yourself becoming quite interested about the concept. God bless you.

In His peace and love.