N
Neithan
Guest
Suffering is taught by the Church to have redemptive value for Christians; it joins us to Christ’s eternal Passion, it is penitential and even meritorious if done for God in His Grace or fellow brothers and sisters in Christ either here on earth or in purgatory; it is an objective evil, but is used for a greater good. Given this teaching, why should we as Catholics avoid suffering at all, if we can help ourselves and others’ spiritual welfare? Shouldn’t we actively seek it out? Shouldn’t we try to live with as much pain and suffering every day as we possibly can, and offer it up to God as spiritual sacrifice?
The trickiest question: why should we alleviate the suffering of other Christians here on earth? It’s good for their soul! It helps them avoid purgatory! Aren’t we all called by Baptism to suffer? Rather than help each other avoid pain with pleasurable ‘acts of mercy’ shouldn’t we just join one another to Christ in our suffering and pain? Aren’t we called to be complete anti-hedonists, pursuing pain rather than pleasure? Meritorious practices such as mortification are strongly encouraged by the Church to forsake the pleasures of the body, replaced with pain, and such heroic saints as St. Rose of Lima clearly exemplify this in practice. The long line of holy Martyrs exemplify the ultimate consequence of pain and suffering–death, as the greatest glory unto God and the Church.
It’s confusing because no Catholic theologian/philosopher will argue that pain and suffering are the goals of humanity, but rather pleasure and happiness, which the world also clearly tells us. God wants us to be happy. In this present life however, our disordered desires seek out pleasures which will lead us to sin and unhappiness, whereas when we seek out pain and suffering we gain spiritual satisfactions unto salvation–ours and other members of Christ’s Mystical Body on earth or in purgatory–as well as spiritual merit unto glorification. Christ’s Passion took all the evil affects of Original Sin and turned them upside down–now pain and suffering are used for greater good, which will be realised in heaven. If our lives here are abolute misery, but we undergo all this misery in faith, hope and charity for love of God and the Church, then we will please God and He will reward us in heaven.
A quick reference to elaborate: in Protagoras, Socrates explains (in terms pertaining purely to the pagan, earthly life) that ‘good’ is that which leads to the greatest ultimate pleasure, and ‘evil’ is that which leads to the greatest ultimate pain. Sometimes pain is undertaken–such as strenuous exercise–to experience a greater good–health, energy etc. Sometimes pleasure, which seems good at the moment–like taking illicit drugs–can lead to greater evil–sickness, addiction etc. Greater pain now can lead to greater pleasure later and vice versa–more exercise, better health/pleasure overall; or more drugs, worse health/pain overall.
So it is in the Christian life with pleasure and sin, pain and merit, viewed from eternity. If we seek out pleasures in this life, we are missing opportunities to increase our pleasures in the next (heaven), which is far greater. Or worse, indulging in pleasures in this life will wallow us in sin where we will ultimately undergo greater pain for all of eternity (hell). If we live this life in the greatest amount of pain possible, suffered out of a burning love for God and the Church, we will ultimately experience the greatest amount of pleasures (glory) possible for us in heaven! What’s more, our unselfishness will increase the greatest ultimate pleasures of those souls for whom we have suffered!
Should we as the Catholics not constantly strive, to the greatest limits of our ability, for pain and suffering in fervent humility and charity as our ultimate goal in this life on earth? Is it not our ideal–Christ–that we forsake all our own pleasure and happiness in this life to:
**1.) **spread the Gospel to those outside the Church (i.e. suffering to increase the members of Christ’s Mystical Body on earth–the Church Militant)
**2.) **strengthen the Church Militant (suffering to resist our own temptations to avoid falling from Grace, and suffering for others to intercede for Graces)
3.) alleviate the punishment of the Church Suffering in purgatory (suffering for indulgences, penances etc. on behalf of the dead in Christ)
Is this not the very meaning of Christ’s Cross, to follow Him into willing all selfless **pain **and suffering? Even unto death? To truly deny this life on earth to save it for the life to come?
Matt. 10:38, 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, 17:33; John 12:25
The trickiest question: why should we alleviate the suffering of other Christians here on earth? It’s good for their soul! It helps them avoid purgatory! Aren’t we all called by Baptism to suffer? Rather than help each other avoid pain with pleasurable ‘acts of mercy’ shouldn’t we just join one another to Christ in our suffering and pain? Aren’t we called to be complete anti-hedonists, pursuing pain rather than pleasure? Meritorious practices such as mortification are strongly encouraged by the Church to forsake the pleasures of the body, replaced with pain, and such heroic saints as St. Rose of Lima clearly exemplify this in practice. The long line of holy Martyrs exemplify the ultimate consequence of pain and suffering–death, as the greatest glory unto God and the Church.
It’s confusing because no Catholic theologian/philosopher will argue that pain and suffering are the goals of humanity, but rather pleasure and happiness, which the world also clearly tells us. God wants us to be happy. In this present life however, our disordered desires seek out pleasures which will lead us to sin and unhappiness, whereas when we seek out pain and suffering we gain spiritual satisfactions unto salvation–ours and other members of Christ’s Mystical Body on earth or in purgatory–as well as spiritual merit unto glorification. Christ’s Passion took all the evil affects of Original Sin and turned them upside down–now pain and suffering are used for greater good, which will be realised in heaven. If our lives here are abolute misery, but we undergo all this misery in faith, hope and charity for love of God and the Church, then we will please God and He will reward us in heaven.
A quick reference to elaborate: in Protagoras, Socrates explains (in terms pertaining purely to the pagan, earthly life) that ‘good’ is that which leads to the greatest ultimate pleasure, and ‘evil’ is that which leads to the greatest ultimate pain. Sometimes pain is undertaken–such as strenuous exercise–to experience a greater good–health, energy etc. Sometimes pleasure, which seems good at the moment–like taking illicit drugs–can lead to greater evil–sickness, addiction etc. Greater pain now can lead to greater pleasure later and vice versa–more exercise, better health/pleasure overall; or more drugs, worse health/pain overall.
So it is in the Christian life with pleasure and sin, pain and merit, viewed from eternity. If we seek out pleasures in this life, we are missing opportunities to increase our pleasures in the next (heaven), which is far greater. Or worse, indulging in pleasures in this life will wallow us in sin where we will ultimately undergo greater pain for all of eternity (hell). If we live this life in the greatest amount of pain possible, suffered out of a burning love for God and the Church, we will ultimately experience the greatest amount of pleasures (glory) possible for us in heaven! What’s more, our unselfishness will increase the greatest ultimate pleasures of those souls for whom we have suffered!
Should we as the Catholics not constantly strive, to the greatest limits of our ability, for pain and suffering in fervent humility and charity as our ultimate goal in this life on earth? Is it not our ideal–Christ–that we forsake all our own pleasure and happiness in this life to:
**1.) **spread the Gospel to those outside the Church (i.e. suffering to increase the members of Christ’s Mystical Body on earth–the Church Militant)
**2.) **strengthen the Church Militant (suffering to resist our own temptations to avoid falling from Grace, and suffering for others to intercede for Graces)
3.) alleviate the punishment of the Church Suffering in purgatory (suffering for indulgences, penances etc. on behalf of the dead in Christ)
Is this not the very meaning of Christ’s Cross, to follow Him into willing all selfless **pain **and suffering? Even unto death? To truly deny this life on earth to save it for the life to come?
Matt. 10:38, 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, 17:33; John 12:25