As it stands to reason we as created and
contingent beings, brought into existence not in any random or chaotic way or
reason, we exist to love God and follow to serve others in order for all souls
to find Christ and in the end obtain eternal salvation. While it is not easy to understand or imitate
Christ of the world, as the world stands in direct contradiction to Christ, His
teachings and His Church there are examples of souls that have lived their
lives in following Christ in a very austere and direct way, to the point that
those people close to them, did not understand them. While the world quickly attempts to dismisses,
with mental gymnastics, the existence of God, Jesus and His Church, one has to
look no further than to history and the examples and writings of such souls. We are brought into existence body, mind/soul
composite not by any willing or desire of our own but only by the love of
God. As we are created in the image and
likeness of God, our Creator, we are called to follow and imitate His Son. As this philosophical assertion is not
without question and debate, by people that wish to live outside any moral
compass or benchmark, it is impossible to dismiss the existence of God, Christ,
and His Church and such teachings, with any sound logic and reason.
As the world rejects God and the
teachings of The Church, a fundamental issue the world cannot reason with, and struggles
with, pain and suffering. Because the United States
As stated in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church on suffering;
The Holy Spirit gives to some, a special
charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen
Lord. But even the most intense prayers
do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that
“my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” and
that the sufferings to be endured can mean that “in my flesh I complete what is
lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His Body that is the Church.” (CCC
1508)
As this teaching reaches beyond any human
nature in a normal life, the idea of “Cancer” to anyone that does not accept
the existence of God and Christ, causes abject fear and terror, let alone
having to endure pain and suffering because of such. Furthermore, Christ’s Passion and crucifixion
is beyond understanding to the world, as it is the core fundamental event, not
only to Catholic’s but in history.
Without the crucifixion there would be no reason for, or understanding
of suffering or pain, as well as the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. People would celebrate nothing more than the
Spring Solstice. Using sound reason to
assert without the crucifixion, suffering and pain in our lives would make no
sense. Hence, how is it possible for
anyone using sound logic and reason, to attempt to dismiss the existence of God
and Christ and then in turn explain the existence of pain and suffering? How can anyone understand pain and suffering
if not under the shadow of the cross of Christ?
As contingent beings and created in the
image and likeness of God, we are created in order to find God and do His will,
and in the end obtain eternal salvation or eternal damnation. All human beings have the freewill to choose
to follow or to not follow Christ. It is
with and in chosen souls God reveals the deepest mysteries in order for us to
see and experience Him. They are stars
shining brightly allowing us to, on some level see and understand such depths.
As Christ stated,
“Come
to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up
my yoke upon you, and learn from me, because I am meek, and humble of heart:
and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden
light.” (Mt 11:28-30). The
Holy Bible (1966) The Holy Bible - RSV - Catholic Edition.
“Then
Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life,
shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. Or
what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of
his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Mt 16:24-26) The Holy Bible (1966) – RSV – Catholic Edition. (1966)
Only the depths of a soul being
enlightened by God can grasp and taste the pain and suffering that one endures
which allows one to understand how and why one can endure such. As the soul journeys with its’ Creator, only
by and with His grace, the soul can endure and see that such suffering and pain
brings about clarity. This clarity is
not that of the learned soul but the unlearned soul that seeks ONLY Jesus in
order to imitate and follow Him. This
clarity is only by the grace of God and by His will that a soul can see with
such simplistic clarity. One such person
is Caterina of Siena, a mystic and doctor of the church known for her dialogue
with God the Father. As she was quoted
in a biography by Alyce Curtayne,
“Let
us endure, let us endure, dearest brother; for the more pain we suffer down
here with Christ crucified, the more glory shall we receive; and no pain will
be so much rewarded, as mental pain and labour of the heart; for these are the
greatest pains of all and therefore worthy of the greatest fruit.” Curtayne
(1987, p. 48)
As Caterina was one of the youngest of 25
children, she was illiterate and uneducated and with no formal education; she
was by the grace of God, raised to heights of simplistic clarity to see and
endure such pain and suffering. She was,
for the last several years of her life, unable to eat neither solid food nor
drink water, in addition to sleeping only a few hours, every few nights. She
was a contradiction to the world and even her own family. The world did not
understand her and viewed her as poor and a crazy, lost, little girl. “The
soul cannot live without loving, for we must love either God or the world. And,
the soul always unites itself with what it loves and is transformed by it.”
Curtayne (1987)
The
following citation from The Diary of Sister Marie “Faustyna” Kowalska, asserts
a similar disposition as Caterina. Her
desire to imitate and follow Christ and not the world and all of its’ vain
glory and sin-folly, she like Caterina was uneducated, yet without any formal
education and training was raised to the heights of simplistic clarity to see
God to that of the world. Would it not
stand to reason by the examples of such souls, point us to the existence of God
and Christ and give us the knowledge and reason in order to understand pain and
suffering. Does it not make sound
philosophical reason and logic that without the Cross of Christ pain and
suffering would be meaningless and non-sense?
How is it that the world can attempt to dismiss the existence of God and
Christ and people that are in positions of authority and administration be seen
as intelligent and to be imitated?
(22) Act of total
abandonment to the will of God, which is for me, love and mercy itself.
Act of Oblation
Jesus-Host, whom I have this very moment
received into my heart, through this union with You I offer myself to the
heavenly Father as a sacrificial host, abandoning myself totally and completely
to the most merciful and holy will of my God.
From today onward, Your will, Lord, is my food. Take my whole being; dispose of me as You
please. Whatever Your fatherly hand
gives me, I will accept with submission, peace and joy. I fear nothing, no matter in what direction
You lead me; helped by Your grace I will carry out everything You demand of
me. I no longer fear any of Your
inspirations nor (23) do I probe
anxiously to see where they will lead me.
Lead me, O God, along whatever roads You please; I have placed all my
trust in Your will which is, for me, love and mercy itself.
Bid me to stay in this convent, I will
stay; bid me to undertake the work, I will undertake it; leave me in
uncertainty about the work until I die, be blessed; give my death when, humanly
speaking, my life seems particularly necessary, be blessed. Should You take me in my youth, be blessed;
should You let me live to a ripe old age, be blessed. Should You give me health and strength, be
blessed; should You confine me to a bed of pain for my whole life, be
blessed. Should you give only failures
and disappointments in life, be blessed.
Should You allow my purest intentions to be condemned, be blessed. Should You enlighten my mind, be
blessed. Should You leave me in darkness
and all kinds of (24) torments, be
blessed.
From this moment on, I live in the deepest
peace, because the Lord himself is carrying me in the hollow of His hand, He
Lord of unfathomable mercy, knows that I desire Him alone in all things, always
and everywhere. M.F. Kowalska (1987,
para. 1264)
It would stand to reason that pain and
suffering is not easy to endure and we must by the grace of God be able to move
past all fear and anxiety to a depth of peace and simplistic clarity that can
only be given by God. This disposition
of the soul to its’ Creator can only be obtained by the grace of God and not by
any willing it on our behalf, can we obtain such heights. While pain and suffering and understanding
the cross of Christ is not easy nor a desire of most souls, it cannot nor does
dismiss neither history nor what has been written and, or given to us by God
through such souls. As created and
contingent human beings, we are created in the image and likeness of God, in
order to love and do His will on this earth.
It is by, with and through His grace that a soul is given such
simplistic clarity, which enables us to see on some level more clearly,
God. It is only from, through and with
Him that we exist and regardless of the mental gymnastics people attempt, can or
will not change this.
References
(Catechism of the Catholic Church 1995)(Curtayne A
1987 Catherine of Siena)Curtayne, A. (1987). Catherine of Siena New York
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
– (CCC). New
York
(Holy Bible 1966 Holy Bible - RSV - Catholic Edition)The
Holy Bible (1966). The Holy Bible - RSV -
Catholic Edition. San Francisco
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