APOSTOLIC LETTER - JOHN PAUL II SALVIFICI DOLORIS ON THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING READ Paragraphs #25 through #27 . . . LINK . . . Summery Notes: · The witnesses of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ have handed on to the Church and to mankind a specific Gospel of suffering. · Jesus' Mother Mary, through the exemplary testimony to suffering - in the solemn words of the aged Simeon, when he spoke of a sharp sword that would pierce her heart. · Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: "If any man would come after me... let him take up his cross daily '' · Jesus does not conceal the prospect of suffering from his disciples and followers. The Apostle Paul will say: "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" · Down through the centuries and generations it has been seen that in suffering there is concealed a particular power that draws a person interiorly close to Christ, a special grace. To this grace many saints, such as Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and others, owe their profound conversion. · Faith in sharing in the suffering of Christ brings with it the interior certainty that the suffering person "completes what is lacking in Christ's afflictions"; the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemption he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. For Reflection: · Have you taken into account that your following of Christ may bring you suffering? · St. Paul connected his sufferings to those of Jesus. We pray for our sufferings to be taken away; can you, like Paul, see them as also having great merit? · Jesus on the cross was mocked: "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! If he's the king of Israel let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him". Has your sufferings or those of others caused doubt to invade your faith? |
This series of posts is a journey in prayer through the days of Lent and Holy Week using the Ignatian Approach to Contemplation | |||||
HolyWeek 2 | |||||
Continue to enjoy your Lenten reflections Father.
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