Suffering out of time?

[jazzbaby1]

Okay, my last thread was about prayer out of time…so this one is about suffering out of time and offering suffering up.

I get the concept of offering up suffering. What I’m curious about is if it’s possible to offer up suffering from before becoming Catholic. For example, if someone survives cancer and later becomes Catholic is it possible to retroactively offer up that suffering? Is suffering something you have to offer up just at the moment you’re experiencing it?

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Hi Jazzbaby1…I’ll have a try at answering you. There is no time with God - the past, present and future is all one to Him. So yes, you can offer up the past to God - for God sees the whole of time as one and He knew at the time that you would want to offer what you were suffering to Him. I hope that makes some sense!..Blessings and Peace…Barb
PS It is a very fascinating question that made me pause and think - a good question to pose.

 

[TOP]

Okay, my last thread was about prayer out of time…so this one is about suffering out of time and offering suffering up.

I get the concept of offering up suffering. What I’m curious about is if it’s possible to offer up suffering from before becoming Catholic. For example, if someone survives cancer and later becomes Catholic is it possible to retroactively offer up that suffering? Is suffering something you have to offer up just at the moment you’re experiencing it?

Yep. I’m a cancer survivor and often offer my past experience’s for certain intentions. I also suffer from the memory of these things and try to unite it to the sorrowful passion. As I wait for test results and not knowing the state of my remission, I can unite to Jesus in the agony in the garden. That is my strongest union and offer it for His intentions at that time. Tim

 

[water]

Sure, we can offer up our suffering out of time or past time as you mentioned. Besides, to us, we only know things that have already happened. thus, what we offer is mostly what has already happened.

 

[InLight247]

We definitely can offer up our past sufferings.

Not long ago I recalled a miserable childhood experience when I was seven.
It was an experience of being deserted by all of my friends with none of my own fault.

When I walked in late to the classroom that morning, the entire class sat there and used a silent hand gesture representing break-up of friendship with me. I still remember my total shock and confusion. Later, some insulting words were written on the wall and ground about me all over the village. Kids can be very cruel.

While thinking of that vivid memory, I retro-offered my pain up. I told God if time goes back for me to relive my childhood, I am still willing to go through all of that.
I realized Jesus has allowed me having a glimpse of his agony before Crucifixion - the suffering of being deserted by all, along with insults. I thank God for giving me the privilege of tasting a very tiny part of his suffering.

 

[Coreopisis]

We definitely can offer up our past sufferings.

Not long ago I recalled a miserable childhood experience when I was seven.
It was an experience of being deserted by all of my friends with none of my own fault.

When I walked in late to the classroom that morning, the entire class sat there and used a silent hand gesture representing break-up of friendship with me. I still remember my total shock and confusion. Later, some insulting words were written on the wall and ground about me all over the village. Kids can be very cruel.

While thinking of that vivid memory, I retro-offered my pain up. I told God if time goes back for me to relive my childhood, I am still willing to go through all of that.
I realized Jesus has allowed me having a glimpse of his agony before Crucifixion - the suffering of being deserted by all, along with insults. I thank God for giving me the privilege of tasting a very tiny part of his suffering.

Geez I feel your pain. I went through something similar where in like 4th grade I wanted to play jump rope with the rest of the girls and one of them took a vote of all who wanted me to join. Only one girl raised her hand and another ripped it out of the air. Then they all ignored me for hte remainder of the school year. To this day I have no idea why. It was just a cruel kid thing.

If we can offer up past sufferings from Gradeschool I am pretty sure I can almost empty purgatory.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

A fond memory of mine from primary school is my day of fame.

Something or other had happened in the playground of which I was totally ignorant, and Sister decided I was the guilty party for some reason. I was summonsed to the front of the classroom where I received the strap and a very severe reprimand from Sister for my ‘crime’. The strap was a piece of leather and corporal punishment was administered by the nuns for various crimes .

I had never been central in the school, but for 24 hours after receiving the strap I was the primary school heroine…for what reason I have never discerned but the assertion was that I had not ‘dobbed’. Frankly, I could not dob since I did not know the true culprit nor the crime . Having read about saints who did not defend themselves, I gave it a try. To my surprise, I became ‘famous’ for a day. I as too afraid of loosing my fame and good fortune indeed by confessing to my classmates my total ignorance of the culprit and crime. I relished in my fame tho I could never ever discern the true culprit nor crime, and basked joyfully in that fame feeling that at last I had ‘arrived’…and was devestated the next day to find I was again relegated to my unknown and unremarked place in student primary school affairs. That taught me something about fame!!!

Generally speaking, my childhood was a mixture of the good and the bad…of a functional and at times dysfunctional family situation and eduction. At times my way was painful at other times joyful. I think this more or less reflects the experiences of most…save those that have suffered dreadfully in their present and past lives.

The question asked in the OP is a really good. One can indeed gather and offer up all past (and present and future)sufferings and unite them to The Passion of Christ. Jazzbaby’s opening question though did make me stop and have a think.

God’s Blessings and His Peace…Barb

 

[LISA_Annette]

Okay, my last thread was about prayer out of time…so this one is about suffering out of time and offering suffering up.

I get the concept of offering up suffering. What I’m curious about is if it’s possible to offer up suffering from before becoming Catholic. For example, if someone survives cancer and later becomes Catholic is it possible to retroactively offer up that suffering? Is suffering something you have to offer up just at the moment you’re experiencing it?

Suffering* is *a prayer if done with patience, love and in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So it can be seen in the same light as how people answered your last question on prayer out of time

 

[blessedstar]

Suffering* is *a prayer if done with patience, love and in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So it can be seen in the same light as how people answered your last question on prayer out of time

I don’t know anyone who suffers well, save Jesus and His Blessed Mother. They may not speak a word of complaint about their suffering to anyone except a Priest or Sister, but even so they still do not suffer well. The poor endurance of the suffering is not what is at question, but the striving to suffer well is what is important; that is to embrace and rejoice in the suffering (our cross) no matter how poorly we suffer. Eveyone laments their suffering if not externally to others, they do so internally to God.

Everything is prayer but I believe suffering is the highest prayer save the Mass that we can offer to Jesus. If everything is prayer, then every thought, word and action is prayer and therefore our life is prayer and if our life is prayer then from our very conception is prayer, so you can offer in retrospect your entire life to God as prayer for His glory.

If for many years we did not know our lives to be a prayer we still may offer our poor prayer to Jesus retrospectively and if now we know our life to be a prayer then we still offer this poor prayer to Jesus only now we ask that He make it a most excellent and beautiful prayer in His sight by recreating us in the Living Prayer of our life.

Afterall it is only the Holy Spirit that makes our prayer good and perfect.

The Living Gospel calls for Living Prayer.

In the Living Prayer of my life.