October 27, 2006
You know, there are many things that I have a difficult time understanding. I came across one recently when I was reading the writing of Saint Rose of Lima. I must tell you that when I first read it, my whole being rebelled. At first I thought that it didn’t make any sense. Then, I thought maybe it made sense only for really saintly people.
The first part went like this: Suffering is the only stairway to paradise, and without the cross no one can find the road to climb to heaven. I didn’t like that part too much; but it wasn’t that bad. Then I read the next part. She said that if we knew how great grace was, we would devote all our care and concern to winning for ourselves pains and afflictions. We would seek trouble, infirmities and torments, instead of good fortune and we would never complain about our cross or our troubles.
I had to stop and think about this one for a while. Why would I possibly want pain or affliction? Why would I seek trouble? Why wouldn’t I want good fortune? And God knows how much I complain. There must be something wrong.
And sure enough, there was something wrong. And that something was me. Like so many people throughout the course of history, I was seeing the cross as a device of torture, a sign of pain, the ultimate symbol of defeat. Saint Paul tells us that the cross is an absurdity to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. And the cross really is all of those things. It is not a decorative piece of jewelry or a pretty ornament to hang on the wall. It is pain, affliction, trouble, infirmities, and torments. It is the opposite of good fortune. It is emotional anguish; it is abandonment; it is agonizing pain.
But, if that were all, it would really be something to be avoided. But we know that it is the source of our salvation. Jesus went through all of that, and He did it voluntarily, to prove His love for us. He did it so that we could live confidently in His love now and enjoy the perfection of heaven with Him later. Our salvation had to come through the cross of Jesus Christ. There was no other way.
Maybe after all, Saint Rose really did have a point. Jesus had to endure His cross for our salvation. Suffering has value; suffering does produce amazing results—results that last forever, results that overcome the passing nature of our difficulties. Saint Rose says that grace comes after tribulation and that it is impossible to reach the heights of grace without the burden of affliction. I was beginning to get it. I thought that maybe the idea is that we suffer a little now, compared to what we get later. Please pray with me and for me that we begin to love the cross more.
Thank you, Saint Rose, for that vivid and painful reminder of the real beauty and the real pain of the cross.
Pax et bonum,
Br. Guiseppe Maria Siniscalchi, CFR
____________________________________________
send us your questions/comments(you must re-type or copy and paste this address into your email):
franciscanscfr@yahoo.com