This is a section from #57 in Sister Faustina’s Diary.
Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.
I am unable to wrap my head around the saying “suffering is a great grace.” How can suffering be a “great grace?” I know that God gives us grace to help us get through suffering and times of trouble and maybe that is what the saying is alluding to but I just don’t see simply experiencing suffering as being a “great grace.”
I am fully aware that through our suffering we are able to become like Christ. I have experienced the gift of having a purer love and have displayed a purer love the more I have suffered. The more we suffer the purer our love. I am guessing the words “the greater the suffering, the purer the love” pertains to our love of God, everyone, and everything – all that is good. I know since my having suffered greatly I have become more accepting of others’ different points of view. It’s not that I don’t disagree with people anymore cause I do, but I don’t get upset and blow the lid off with unkind, defensive words near as often as I used to do. So through suffering I have become a better, more faithful, more loving person.
Here is a meditation from the book Song of the Sparrow.
The real signs of our faith are often the men and women we know. Some are evident signs of faith, hope, and charity, and others signs of contradiction. It is the latter people who disturb us and make us question whether we are seeing things aright. Those who are hostile and aggressive and speak like Old Testament prophets, make us wonder if they are real. The meek and humble somehow beguile us by their gentleness and goodness.
Amen. I am so blessed to have gotten to know a number of men and women across the blogosphere. Thank you all so much and God Bless.
Here is a small portion of Pope Francis’ homily for “Evangelium Vitae Sunday”.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us look to God as the God of Life, let us look to his law, to the Gospel message, as the way to freedom and life. The Living God sets us free! Let us say “Yes” to love and not selfishness. Let us say “Yes” to life and not death. Let us say “Yes” to freedom and not enslavement to the many idols of our time. In a word, let us say “Yes” to the God who is love, life and freedom, and who never disappoints (cf. 1 Jn 4:8; Jn 11:2; Jn 8:32). Only faith in the Living God saves us: in the God who in Jesus Christ has given us his own life, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit has enabled us to live as true sons and daughters of God. This faith brings us freedom and happiness. Let us ask Mary, Mother of Life, to help us receive and bear constant witness to the “Gospel of Life”.
