Please explain uniting our suffering with Christ

[tom25]

Could some please explain the idea of uniting our suffering with Christ. I understand that if I sold my car or TV, or sold plasma, to help sponsor missionaries or donate to a shelter so poor people can get good food, or single moms have their financial burden eased, etc…

When I have heard it talked about on the radio, people talk about how they are having bad days or frustration with something, and that they give it up to Christ and if they unite it with Christ’s suffering, it can be redemptive for others.

I think I have to be missing something, but I am not sure what it would be, because in one case it sounds like a sacrifice or bearing of a burden for someone, and in the other it sounds like bearing a bad day with dignity and grace. So any insight would be appreciated.

 

[JurisPrudens]

Could some please explain the idea of uniting our suffering with Christ. I understand that if I sold my car or TV, or sold plasma, to help sponsor missionaries or donate to a shelter so poor people can get good food, or single moms have their financial burden eased, etc…

When I have heard it talked about on the radio, people talk about how they are having bad days or frustration with something, and that they give it up to Christ and if they unite it with Christ’s suffering, it can be redemptive for others.

I think I have to be missing something, but I am not sure what it would be, because in one case it sounds like a sacrifice or bearing of a burden for someone, and in the other it sounds like bearing a bad day with dignity and grace. So any insight would be appreciated.

Jesus bore His very BAD day with dignity and grace. As I understand, uniting our suffering with His primarily means recognizing how small our suffering is in comparison to His and trying to bear it with as much dignity as Jesus did. We cannot do that on our own, but we can ask Jesus to help us do that. The end point of this is to become worthy to be God’s children, as Jesus became. :heaven: Well, yes, if we succeed in that, it will be our merit, which is a part of the Treasury of Merit of the Church. And it can be used to help others.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

This will help

w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1984/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.html

 

[MrsAngelala]

I struggled with this last year, and after I worked out a sort of framework for practical application, I later found this podcast helpful in clarifying some points (also helpful in validating that I wasn’t totally out in left-field!). I sent it to my husband, who listened to it and came back to me a couple of days later – he told me he felt like his perspective on happiness/suffering was changing, and he was already feeling better.

matthewsleonard.com/015-exploring-the-mystery-of-redemptive-suffering-with-jeff-cavins/

One thing it looks like you may be missing is that “offering it up” helps you. We are going to suffer. Most of the time, it’s not because we’re directly shouldering another person’s suffering, but we’re simply trying to deal with our own. In and of itself, suffering is nothing but a dead weight – pain or discomfort or confusion with no value – but when we can offer it to “make up what is lacking” in Christ’s suffering on the cross, applying it for the benefit of someone else, it becomes a blessing to them. It is redeemed. Suddenly our suffering has value, and in gaining value, it loses weight.

I hope I got that right, and that it’s helpful to you. In practical terms, I say something like, “Jesus, please accept my pain/discomfort/frustration/etc. alongside your suffering on the cross, and use it for the benefit of my husband” or “…the people in my city who don’t have someone to pray for them” or “…to help my sister find a church where she can feel welcomed and be challenged to grow closer to you.” (You get the idea.) So far, I usually feel a distinct and almost physical lightening when I remember to do this. It’s pretty cool.

Incidentally, I offer these things up for the husband most of the time. He doesn’t know this. When he came to me to tell me he thought this perspective on suffering was helping him? He said he wasn’t sure how it was helping, but that something was different and better… and that he was pretty sure it had something to do with me. “What do you mean?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” he replied, “I just have a strong feeling that this difference has something to do with you.”

Not only is this cool, it WORKS!