APOSTOLIC LETTER - JOHN PAUL II SALVIFICI DOLORIS ON THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING READ Paragraphs #19 through #24 . . . LINK . . . Summery Notes: ·
One can say that with the Passion of Christ all
human suffering has found itself in a new situation. In the Cross of Christ not
only is the Redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering
itself has been redeemed. ·
the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Galatians
will say: "He gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present
evil age", and in the First Letter to the Corinthians: "You were
bought with a price. So glorify God in your body ". Thus each person, in their
suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ. ·
The eloquence of Jesus’ Cross and death is
completed by the eloquence of the Resurrection. Man finds in the Resurrection a
completely new light, which helps him to go forward through the thick darkness
of humiliations, doubts, hopelessness and persecution. ·
This discovery caused Saint Paul to write
particularly strong words in the Letter to the Galatians: "I have been
crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me:
and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me"(Gal. 2:19-20). ·
The witnesses of the Cross and Resurrection were
convinced that "through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of
God". Those who share in the sufferings of Christ are also called, through
their own sufferings, to share in His glory.
·
In the mystery of the Church as his Body, Christ
has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering. In
this redemptive suffering, through which the Redemption of the world was
accomplished, Christ opened himself from the beginning to every human suffering
and constantly does so. For Reflection: · Consider this paradox, The God we petition to take away our suffering sent His Son to suffer with us. · Much suffering is the result of human sinning. You understand that in the natural order redemption comes with a cost. Do you see a connection with the spiritual order? · How do we take on ourselves the cost of the sin of the world? Consider the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as examples. · And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Mtt. 25:40 |
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 | |||||
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