The qualities of suffering

Suffering is a complicated concept to grasp, and our fallen human natures make it easy for us to fall into self pity and despair. However, as always, God's plan for us is far superior. Through my reading, I have come to understand that there are three qualities of suffering.

The first quality of suffering is purgative when our souls are purified and brought closer to Christ. We realize our weaknesses, and we desire to grow in holiness. God allows suffering in our lives to help us desire greater intimacy with Himself, and this often leads us to a desire to suffer even more for Christ, and we are given strength to be further purified.

The second quality of suffering is unitive, and this unity with Christ is gained as a result of the purgative quality of suffering. We develop a burning love for Christ, and we realize what it means to truly love. We grow closer to Christ as we unite our sufferings with His through our trials and self denial.

St. Faustina said, "Sufferings, adversities, humiliations, failures and suspicions that have come my way are splinters that keep alive the fire of my love for You, O Jesus."

The third quality of suffering is redemptive. It is the greatest joy of holy souls because redemptive suffering most closely resembles the love of our crucified Christ. We do not have to pass through the first two qualities to offer our sufferings to Christ, however, the more a soul has been tried and tested, the more graces will be obtained from its redemptive suffering. This is fascinating, and it becomes clear that if we wish to suffer for the conversion of the greatest number of souls, we need to embark on a journey of self mastery through sacrifice and self denial.

St. Faustina said, "O my Jesus, I know that, in order to be useful to souls, one has to strive for the closest possible union with You, who are Eternal Love... I can be wholly useful to the Church by my personal sanctity, which throbs with life in the whole Church, for we all make up one organism in Jesus."

St. Faustina was an amazing saint, and she had a vision that illustrated this point.
"On the First Friday of the month, before Communion, I saw a large ciborium filled with sacred hosts. A hand placed the ciborium in front of me, and I took it in my hands. There were a thousand living hosts inside. Then I heard a voice, These are hosts which have been received by the souls for whom you have obtained the grace of true conversion during this Lent."

This knowledge of suffering can be a little scary, but I think that when we understand the true nature of suffering it suddenly becomes less of a burden.
St. Faustina said, "At the beginning of my religious life, suffering and adversities frightened and disheartened me. So I prayed continuously, asking Jesus to strengthen me and to grant me the power of His Holy Spirit that I might carry out His holy will in all things, because from the beginning I have been aware of my weakness." [p. 56] She later writes; "From the moment I came to love suffering, it ceased to be a suffering for me. Suffering is the daily food of my soul."

The saints remind us that when God allows burdens and sufferings in our lives, He also infuses us with the grace we need to bear the hardships with faith and joy.

It is also comforting to recognize that God allows us to suffer because He loves us.

St. Padre Pio said, "Jesus said to me; 'How many times would you have abandoned Me, my son, if I had not crucified you. Beneath the cross, one learns love, and I do not give this to everyone, but only to those souls who are dearest to Me."

This does not mean that God takes pleasure in our suffering, but as our heavenly Father, God knows when His children need guidance no matter how painful that guidance may be.
St. Therese wrote, "Never does our suffering make Him happy, but it is necessary for us, and so He sends it to us, while, as it were, turning away His face.... I assure you that it costs Him dearly to fill us with bitterness. The good God, who so loves us, has pain enough in being obliged to leave us on earth to fulfill our time of trial, without our constantly telling Him of our discomfort; we must appear not to notice it...Far from complaining to Our Lord of the cross which He sends us, I cannot fathom the infinite love which has led Him to treat us this way...What a favor from Jesus, and how He must love us to send us so great a sorrow! Eternity will not be long enough to bless Him for it." -(Joy In Suffering, pg.8)

In the end, as we reach greater levels of holiness, we will desire suffering because it is the way to happiness. Fr. John Hardon wrote, "Love wants to suffer for the Beloved... Love wants to expiate the sins that have so deeply penetrated mankind. Love wants to make up for the lack of love among those who sin. Love wants to relieve the debt of suffering that sinners owe to God. Love wants to give God what sinners are depriving Him of by their sins."

I humbly submit my thoughts on suffering to you, and the fact that this is the teaching of the holy Catholic Church makes me appreciate her truth and beauty even more. I feel so blessed to be part of the Church that Christ founded!