As
Catholics we know that we have been redeemed through the suffering
and death of Jesus Christ. Among other things, this means that we
have forgiveness of sins, that we are reconciled to God, and that we
have become His adopted children. Jesus' resurrection has won us new
life, but it was His sacrificial death that brought about our
redemption. Did you know, however, that we can participate in that
very redemption through our own suffering? Since God is outside of
time, the merits of our suffering can be applied wherever He so
desires. We need only to ask.
Perhaps
someone has told you to "offer it up", referring to a
crisis in your life. Others may even say it jokingly when something
trivial annoys us. But every "cross" we bear can have
meaning and redemptive value when we unite it to the suffering of
Jesus for a noble purpose. St. Paul wrote to the Colossians that he
rejoiced in his sufferings for their sake, and in his flesh he fills
up what is lacking in the afflictions of Jesus, a rather startling
statement since Jesus' sufferings were total and complete. But
because the Church is the Body of Christ, St Paul's sufferings were
endured on behalf of the whole Body, allowing him to share in
Christ's sufferings because of the communion that unites him with the
Head of the Body.
In
the same way, it is our personal afflictions united to the sufferings
of Jesus that can give them meaning and make them redemptive.
Acknowledging that what we suffer has a purpose that we believe will
some day be made known, we need to courageously accept it and "offer
it up" for something like the good of the Church, or for a soul
in purgatory, or for relief of temporal punishment due to our sins.
As St. Paul writes in Phil 1:29, "For to you has been granted,
for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to
suffer for Him." Praise the Lord!
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