G
glenaitken
Guest
Ordinary Time 6th
Loving God in suffering
The scriptures today give us a stark contrast between the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous. The first reading and psalm clue us in to the fate of the wicked, and even show us what it means to be among their number. The cursed and wicked according to these scriptures are those who trust in human beings instead of God; those who seek power in things such as money, authority, and physical might; those who bear no spiritual fruit; those who follow evil advice; those who sin and never repent; and those who tolerate evil in their presence. In short, this scripture condemns those who follow the way of the world: stepping on the throats of others to get ahead and ignore God and neighbor.
The blessed, the scriptures say, are they who trust in the Lord and humbly follow His law. I think that the scriptures go into such detail about the blessedness of the just man and the peril of the wicked because it is not always apparent to us that the wicked man is actually suffering or that the honest man is actually blessed. We tend to see things with the wrong eyes. The part of us that is able to see these Biblical truths is the heart. Often, we are not as in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we ought to be, and so it is not always easy for us to see that the just man is blessed and the wicked man is cursed. To us it appears just the opposite. It is the one who breaks the law of God that seems to have all of the wealth and fun, while the honest God-fearing person seems to have tears for his bread and suffering for his cup. Indeed, when we look at the lives of the saints this paradox is more pronounced. Christ gives us the key to understanding this in the Gospel.
In the beatitudes, Christ tells us that those who suffer are the blessed. Those who are poor, hungry, mourning, hated, merciful, pure, peaceful, and persecuted are blessed. But this is not a general, run of the mill, suffering. Those who suffer for their love of God are those who are blessed. Why is this the case?
When someone suffers, one of two things happens to him. Either he becomes the focal point or something else becomes the focal point of his suffering. Suffering is meritorious when the focal point of the suffering is God. The saints view suffering as coming directly from the hand of God to purify our love for Him. When we suffer and we continue to serve God willingly and wholeheartedly, we purify our love for Him. When it hurts us to love Him, it purifies our self-love and we begin to love God for His own sake and not for our own sakes. When we live the beatitudes for the love of God, our false loves fall to the wayside. Suffering is the first heavenly language that we can learn in this life, and that is why St. Francis says that “perfect joy is only found in the Cross”. It is through suffering that we may join ourselves to the suffering Christ and unite our hearts to His everlasting sacrifice before the throne of God. When we suffer for God’s sake we participate in the saving work of Christ. But to do so we must do what He did: accepting the will of God obediently and humbly with love and trust. This is first experienced in baptism, and likewise in the other sacraments of the Church.
When we accept things from God that He offers us, we learn to trust Him in all things- and that is why the scriptures say that the man who trusts in the Lord is happy and blessed. God is purifying this person and teaching him how to love God above all things, especially himself. In the suffering that comes from following the Law of Grace and denying the flesh, a person learns to love God more than sensual pleasures. In the suffering of assenting to the Divinely Reveled Truth that the Church proclaims through the Magisterium, a person learns to love God more than his own mind. In the suffering of blind trust in the midst of trials, persecution, uncertain futures, and even to the point of losing everything, a person learns to trust in the goodness of God and to love Him as Job did when even in his agony he said, “blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
It is those souls who never learn to love God that are cursed and wicked. It is of these souls that Christ pronounces the woes in the Gospel. Those who are rich and full and jolly and praised without God are sad. Since they have these things without the love of God, they are unable to speak the heavenly language of Divine Love. They are banging gongs and clashing cymbals. Their whole life is nothing but noise in the ears of the Divine. Since they live without love for God in this life, they will not have any love for Him in the next. They will not have their treasures in heaven because they spent them all here of earth. They are like the foolish virgins in the gospel who run out of oil. Since they will have no love for God, they will not be happy in His Presence. They will not even be able to stand the sight of Him, and they will run willingly in to the pit of darkness where they will be empty even in hell.
But for those who love God, they shall have their reward. Not gold and jewels and food, for Christ says that His kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but as the psalm says, “the Lord is my portion and cup… happy the inheritance that falls to me”, so will the reward of the blessed be the very God who they loved so dearly. In Him they will find all, and they will be grateful for the gift of suffering so that they could learn how to love God as He deserves.
Loving God in suffering
The scriptures today give us a stark contrast between the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous. The first reading and psalm clue us in to the fate of the wicked, and even show us what it means to be among their number. The cursed and wicked according to these scriptures are those who trust in human beings instead of God; those who seek power in things such as money, authority, and physical might; those who bear no spiritual fruit; those who follow evil advice; those who sin and never repent; and those who tolerate evil in their presence. In short, this scripture condemns those who follow the way of the world: stepping on the throats of others to get ahead and ignore God and neighbor.
The blessed, the scriptures say, are they who trust in the Lord and humbly follow His law. I think that the scriptures go into such detail about the blessedness of the just man and the peril of the wicked because it is not always apparent to us that the wicked man is actually suffering or that the honest man is actually blessed. We tend to see things with the wrong eyes. The part of us that is able to see these Biblical truths is the heart. Often, we are not as in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we ought to be, and so it is not always easy for us to see that the just man is blessed and the wicked man is cursed. To us it appears just the opposite. It is the one who breaks the law of God that seems to have all of the wealth and fun, while the honest God-fearing person seems to have tears for his bread and suffering for his cup. Indeed, when we look at the lives of the saints this paradox is more pronounced. Christ gives us the key to understanding this in the Gospel.
In the beatitudes, Christ tells us that those who suffer are the blessed. Those who are poor, hungry, mourning, hated, merciful, pure, peaceful, and persecuted are blessed. But this is not a general, run of the mill, suffering. Those who suffer for their love of God are those who are blessed. Why is this the case?
When someone suffers, one of two things happens to him. Either he becomes the focal point or something else becomes the focal point of his suffering. Suffering is meritorious when the focal point of the suffering is God. The saints view suffering as coming directly from the hand of God to purify our love for Him. When we suffer and we continue to serve God willingly and wholeheartedly, we purify our love for Him. When it hurts us to love Him, it purifies our self-love and we begin to love God for His own sake and not for our own sakes. When we live the beatitudes for the love of God, our false loves fall to the wayside. Suffering is the first heavenly language that we can learn in this life, and that is why St. Francis says that “perfect joy is only found in the Cross”. It is through suffering that we may join ourselves to the suffering Christ and unite our hearts to His everlasting sacrifice before the throne of God. When we suffer for God’s sake we participate in the saving work of Christ. But to do so we must do what He did: accepting the will of God obediently and humbly with love and trust. This is first experienced in baptism, and likewise in the other sacraments of the Church.
When we accept things from God that He offers us, we learn to trust Him in all things- and that is why the scriptures say that the man who trusts in the Lord is happy and blessed. God is purifying this person and teaching him how to love God above all things, especially himself. In the suffering that comes from following the Law of Grace and denying the flesh, a person learns to love God more than sensual pleasures. In the suffering of assenting to the Divinely Reveled Truth that the Church proclaims through the Magisterium, a person learns to love God more than his own mind. In the suffering of blind trust in the midst of trials, persecution, uncertain futures, and even to the point of losing everything, a person learns to trust in the goodness of God and to love Him as Job did when even in his agony he said, “blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
It is those souls who never learn to love God that are cursed and wicked. It is of these souls that Christ pronounces the woes in the Gospel. Those who are rich and full and jolly and praised without God are sad. Since they have these things without the love of God, they are unable to speak the heavenly language of Divine Love. They are banging gongs and clashing cymbals. Their whole life is nothing but noise in the ears of the Divine. Since they live without love for God in this life, they will not have any love for Him in the next. They will not have their treasures in heaven because they spent them all here of earth. They are like the foolish virgins in the gospel who run out of oil. Since they will have no love for God, they will not be happy in His Presence. They will not even be able to stand the sight of Him, and they will run willingly in to the pit of darkness where they will be empty even in hell.
But for those who love God, they shall have their reward. Not gold and jewels and food, for Christ says that His kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but as the psalm says, “the Lord is my portion and cup… happy the inheritance that falls to me”, so will the reward of the blessed be the very God who they loved so dearly. In Him they will find all, and they will be grateful for the gift of suffering so that they could learn how to love God as He deserves.