Why Must We Suffer?

by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI

Originally published in The Reign of Mary, No. 136 (Fall 2009)

“If God is so good, then why is there so much suffering in the world?” is the question on the lips of many atheists. How can we answer that question? Indeed, philosophers have puzzled over this question from time immemorial. Suffering is a universal experience of mankind, and so it must have a purpose. Understanding the answers to these questions will not only equip us to defend our faith in the midst of skepticism, but it will also help us to see the purpose of suffering, and thus to bear our crosses with greater patience and, consequently, with more merit.

Beneficial Effects of Suffering

Before we explore the teachings of Scripture and of the saints, it would be good for us to explore the benefits of suffering, considered from a merely natural point of view. For those who have not the gift of faith, these reflections will help them to see a purpose in the ills of mankind. First, reflect that if we had no pain when something was wrong with our body, we would not seek medical attention. Pain serves to move us to action, to obtain treatment. Thus, the sufferings we experience, properly understood, contribute to physical well-being.

But what about suffering that lasts and is not cured by medical attention? What purpose could it possibly serve? Imagine for a moment if there were no suffering in the world. There would then be no need for hospitals, charitable organizations, relief efforts, and on and on. In other words, the suffering in the world has brought out the best in men. If there were no suffering we would all be extremely selfish individuals. The sufferings of others excite our compassion. Some of the greatest men who have ever lived were the selfless souls who gave their lives to alleviating the sufferings of their fellow men.

Even non-Catholics must acknowledge the heroism of a St. Vincent de Paul, a St. Camillus de Lellis, a Fr. Maximilian Kolbe and so many others. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was preparing for the priesthood as a seminarian when he volunteered to help the plague-stricken in Rome. He contracted the plague and died from it shortly thereafter. The whole world knows of the life of Fr. Damian of Molokai — how he offered to go and live among the lepers in order to assist them bodily and spiritually. Contracting leprosy himself, he succumbed to the disease, a martyr of charity.

These saints inspire us to imitate their heroism. They remind us that, if God has favored us with health and/or financial means, we must not smugly keep them for ourselves but rather share these gifts with others. We see an outstanding example of this in Our Lord’s parable of the Good Samaritan. Truly, if there were no suffering to alleviate, there would also be no charity.

But these natural explanations, although helpful, do not give us the full picture. Every Catholic knows that the suffering in this world is due to one cause: sin. God created mankind in a state of great happiness, free from all suffering, disease and death. Original sin spoiled God’s work and brought about the forfeiture of these wonderful gifts. Sin is the cause of all the suffering in the world. Thus, we cannot blame God for suffering. Rather, let us blame ourselves and seek to conquer sin, which has brought so much sorrow and suffering into the world.

Those Whom God Loves, He chastises

The suffering of others gives us an opportunity to help them, but what if we are the ones who suffer? How do we suffer? How should we suffer?

In the Bible there is a book about a man named Job who had been greatly blessed by God. He enjoyed health, a large family and material goods in abundance. Then one day God took it all away, in order to test him. Job, just man that he was, would not get angry with God. His only reply was, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job, 1:21). His closest friends and even his wife could not understand such patience and calmness of soul. Why did God test so severely one who loved Him so much?

Another example is that of St. Joseph. Having been espoused to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was unaware of the great mystery of the Incarnation. Before they came to live together, he became aware that Our Lady was with child. This knowledge was a torment for the chaste and just St. Joseph. Although he had a firm conviction of Our Lady’s virtue, he could not understand how she could be with child. As the Gospel tells us, “He was minded to put her away privately.” Then it was that an angel appeared to him and revealed the mystery: “Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). Again, the question comes to our mind, “Why did God, Who is so good, not reveal this mystery to St. Joseph sooner? Why did He permit St. Joseph to suffer such mental anguish?”

Just one more example from sacred Scripture will suffice to make it clear that those whom He loves God chastises (cf. Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-6). Certainly there is no creature greater, more perfect, than the Blessed Virgin Mary. She not only was preserved from original sin, but she also was ever completely free from all actual sin. Our Lady never in the least offended God; rather, she daily advanced in grace. Yet there also has been no creature who has suffered as she suffered. Ever since the utterance of those memorable words of Simeon at the presentation of the Child in the temple (“Thy own soul a sword shall pierce.”), the awareness of the coming Passion never left her. The countenance of the image of Mary in the famous Pietà of Michelangelo gives us but a faint idea of her suffering. Holy Mother Church applies to her the words of the prophet Jeremias: “Great as the sea is thy sorrow” (Lamentations, 2:13). Truly, her sorrow was far greater than that experienced by all men, and yet she was completely sinless.

The Man of Sorrows

But even the suffering of soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary pales when considered in comparison with the Passion of her Divine Son. Jesus, our Redeemer, never had and could not have any sin of His own. Yet He suffered. We might say that Our Lord came down on this earth purposely to suffer. He could have redeemed us by shedding one tear, by one prayer, or with one drop of His precious Blood. He chose, nevertheless, to endure the excessive pains of His Passion.

Not only did Jesus choose to suffer, He even anticipated these pains: “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). Our merciful Redeemer “went about doing good,” healing all manner of diseases, curing the sick, the lame, the blind. But for Himself, He chose only suffering and the Cross. Pain and suffering, then, must be beneficial. It must be a good to be accepted and not an evil to be rejected. If we see Our Lord and the saints suffering, even though they did not deserve it, how can we, who are sinners, complain if God sends us the cross?

Sacred Scripture and the writings of the saints are filled with quotations that confirm the fact that suffering is a gift given to us by God to draw us to Himself. Our suffering, patiently borne, allows us to expiate our sins in this life rather than in purgatory. It helps us to understand better God’s love for us, suffering so much as He did in His bitter Passion. Patient suffering also draws down God’s mercy upon us and upon a sinful world. When the saints wanted to obtain God’s mercy, they fasted and afflicted their bodies in order to obtain God’s blessings. Suffering provides us the opportunity to merit, for heaven will only be given to those who fight. Finally, suffering gives us the opportunity to prove our love for God, Who has demonstrated so vividly His love for us.

How to Suffer

Suffering is inevitable in this vale of tears. Our pains come in many different forms: there is physical pain, mental anguish, misunderstanding, economic hardship, spiritual trials, etc. We cannot get away from suffering. There is no place to hide from it. All must suffer, although not all suffer the same amount. The key is to learn how to suffer.

When we read the lives of the saints we marvel at their heroic acceptance of suffering. Not only did they bear their crosses without complaining, they even desired to suffer. “Either suffering or death!” was the motto of St. Teresa. St. Magdalen de Pazzi took this one step further, “Not death, but suffering.” If we cannot achieve such a heroic level of love of suffering, let us at least strive to bear our crosses with patience and without complaint. St. Louis Marie de Montfort, in his wonderful letter to “The Friends of the Cross,” gives 14 rules for carrying one’s cross. It would be greatly beneficial for each of us to read these rules and make them an examination of conscience, that we might learn to suffer more meritoriously. Many lose the merit of their suffering because they complain. They seek for human comfort instead of bearing their crosses in silence, offering to God these

On the other hand, those who bear their cross properly experience the joy that patient suffering can bring to the soul. Christ pronounced blessed those who are poor, who mourn, who suffer persecution, etc. Accepting suffering with patience and resignation brings not only an eternal reward, but even in this world imparts a peace of soul that can only be understood by those who experience it.

Conclusion

So we can see that suffering has a purpose. Pity those who reject God — who fail to see His loving purpose. For they must still suffer, despite themselves. Refusing to bear their crosses with patience, they make these burdens the more ponderous by their impatience and rebellion.

Let us also not forget that God knows how to bring good out of evil. As St. Augustine put it: “God has judged it better to bring good out of evil rather than not to allow evil.” Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brethren eventually saved his family and all of Egypt from famine. So, yes, God does have a purpose in allowing suffering. Let us cast ourselves into the loving arms of our heavenly Father and accept all that He sends us, whether sweet or bitter, joy or pain. He truly loves us; let us trust in Him.

Finally, let us be ever mindful of the reward in store for those who bear their crosses for the love of God. Speaking of the just, the book of Wisdom states: “For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of Himself” (Wisdom 3:4-5). St. Paul puts it very simply: “For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). And again he says, “For our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure” (II Corinthians 4:17).