Comfort for the Sick and Dying by David L. Greenstock

Author:David L. Greenstock [Greenstock, David L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Published: 2013-12-09T06:00:00+00:00

Suffering proves and protects love

In the New Testament to which we belong, there is an affinity between suffering and love. It is in this affinity that we shall discover the real meaning of our Lord’s words quoted at the beginning of this chapter. If it is love which suffers, then the yoke is sweet and the burden light. This is true in terms of even purely human love. A mother does not care how much she has to suffer, provided the pain brings some relief to the children she loves so much. Indeed, in many cases, love is its own suffering — not the love that is grasping or self-centered, but that which is truly selfless. The acts of self-denial prompted by love are done freely and easily. We long to give presents to those we love, even though it may mean that we have to go without something in order to do it. We give those we love our time, our labor, and our finest efforts. The greater our love for them, the less we count the cost in terms of goods or personal effort. If we count it at all, it will be in terms of love.

The same is true of the love of God, whether we look at it from His point of view or from our own. We know with what joy He went to His death for us; but however much we meditate on that fact, we shall never plumb the depths of that love. If we leave out of consideration the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, there will never be another act of love like it in the whole history of the world. We know it as a fact — to realize it, we shall have to suffer.

In some mysterious fashion, our sufferings are necessary for the good of the whole Mystical Body. It is not merely a question of accepting whatever trials God may choose to send us as a means of expiating our own personal sins, although, of course, our generous acceptance of suffering does, in fact, serve as expiation. There is more to it than that. Our sufferings are a bond of love between us and Christ, since it is part of love’s function to desire a share in the sufferings of those we love. Indeed, very often it is this very sharing in the sorrows of others which increases our love for them.

As we increase in God’s love, so shall we desire a greater share in His sufferings on the Cross, because by our own pain we can in some measure prove our love for Him and also repay Him for His love. As the measure of our love increases, so, too, will our realization of His divine mission. We shall understand more fully the part we have to play in the application of the fruits of His Redemption. Thus the two elements in the great commandment of love45 will fuse into one and attain ever-growing harmony. Love for Christ will lead us to accept suffering so that others may receive the grace to love Him more.

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