Rejoicing in Suffering

Stained glass window in Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Detroit MI. The Holy Family was a place of great rejoicing through great sufferings; even as they went through becoming refugees, poverty, and the death of Saint Joseph, Mary and Joseph never ceased rejoicing in receiving God into their home and daily lives.

 “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.” -Romans 5:1-12

(This post is a bit shorter than usual because it is currently midterms week. If you wouldn’t mind, please pray for me, and for all seminarians, that we may do all our studies by God’s grace—for His glory and the salvation of souls.)

Rejoice in your suffering, rejoice in your reconciliation to God! For, while we were yet still hopeless sinners, Christ died for us to bring us back to the Father.

Through no merit or power of our own, God chose to offer us total forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. This is who Jesus is; His name means “God Saves.” He is the Christ; the anointed one, the messiah. Jesus gave Himself completely that God might draw as near as possible to us, and we to Him, that we may be sinners no more. We can have great peace knowing that it is His infinite mercy that has brought us to life in Him, not any finite attempt of ours.

Because of this hope we have been bountifully given to share in the glory of God, we are called to rejoice in sufferings. The sufferings we receive now are our stepping stones to choosing the mercy of God in every moment. They are vital times for us to trust God in real and difficult ways, that we might learn to trust Him with our whole selves. What a gift it is that God brings all things to the good for those who love Him, who call out to Him from their hearts! It is in that way that all our sufferings can bring us to a hope in God that will not disappoint. By this hope we can stay firm in faith that Christ has brought us reconciliation, rejoicing that He calls us to follow this hope, through suffering, to the greatest joys that He soon will provide.

Of Our Lady and of those who are faithful to Him, Christ said this:

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” -Luke 11:28

The word of God is our hope of salvation, always and forever spoken by the Father through His Holy Spirit. This word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and if we receive and keep this word of God as Our Lady did—with great trust in His plan and great rejoicing in His love, even through sufferings, then we will be ever-filled with the kingdom of Heaven!