Bob Schuchts - Real Suffering: Finding Hope and Healing in the Trials of Life

DR. BOB SCHUCHTS

Charlotte, North Carolina

Real Suffering: Finding Hope and Healing in the Trials of Life 2018 Saint Benedict Press.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard VersionSecond Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

All excerpts from papal homilies, messages, and encyclicals copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana. All rights reserved.

Cover and interior design by Caroline K. Green. Tree image Os Peaceful/ShutterStock.

ISBN: 978-1-5051-1209-2

Published in the United States by

Saint Benedict Press

P.O. Box 410487

Charlotte, NC 28241

www.SaintBenedictPress.com

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

In memory of my beloved wife,
Margie, who left a legacy of love
even through her most difficult suffering

Benjamin Franklin is credited with the oft repeated maxim: Two things are certain in life: death and taxes. Franklins clever but sobering remark underscores the inevitability of suffering in this fallen world. Death and taxes are but two of the many kinds of trials we face on our earthly pilgrimage. All of us are touched by suffering in one way or another. During this life, each of us suffers physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We also share in the suffering of those around us, both near and far.

Though we may try to insulate ourselves from the reality of human suffering, simply turning on the evening news is enough to shock us out of denial. Within seconds, we are inundated with rapid-fire scenes of intense suffering. These haunting images run the gamut of human degradation and heartbreak: refugees fleeing from terrorist attacks, hungry and abandoned children searching for food, racial tensions erupting violently in our city streets, and helpless victims subjugated to sexual abuse through human trafficking. These are just a few of the myriad examples of human suffering that bombard our sensibilities on a daily basis. Simply recounting these events are enough to traumatize any of us. Add to that our own personal suffering and its easy to see why many of us run from the reality of suffering.

We may ask, why does God allow anyone to suffer in these ways? We know from Sacred Scripture that he is merciful and gracious (Ps 103:8). How can it be his will for his beloved children to live in misery? Pope St. John Paul II answers that question by showing that suffering originates in evil and not from God, the source of all goodness: Man suffers when he experiences any kind of evil. Man suffers on account of evil, which is a certain lack, limitation or distortion of good. We could say that man suffers because of a good in which he does not share, from which in a certain sense he is cut off, or of which he has deprived himself.

Does it make sense that we all suffer due to the evil that has inhabited our world? The Church teaches that human suffering is a result of our first parents rejection of God and rebellion against his loving authority. Some of this suffering is due to our own sin. The rest comes from the sin of others, including what has been passed down through the generations, beginning with Adam and Eve. We all know what it feels like to lack something, or to feel limited in some capacity, dont we? This lack and deprivation is a byproduct of the evil brought into the world by human free will. It is not given to us directly from the hand of God.

God did not create us so that we would be mired in a life of endless hardship. Neither is suffering our ultimate destiny. In heaven, we are assured there will be no more tears, pain, or suffering (see Rv 21:4). Furthermore, the entirety of salvation history reveals the Fathers intimate concern and active care to deliver us from the evils underlying our suffering. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God is constantly entering into our circumstances to bring us out of our self-created misery. His words to Moses express his tender compassion for us: I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings (Ex 3:7).

This theme of Gods relentless pursuit of our consolation and healing in the midst of suffering is repeated throughout the Scriptures. Listen carefully to the prophecy recorded by Isaiah. These timeless words, fulfilled in Jesus, express the tender and compassionate heart that God has for each of us in our misery:

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to bring good tidings to the afflicted;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the LORDs favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion

to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

Instead of your shame you shall have a double portion;

instead of dishonor you shall rejoice in your lot;

therefore in your land you shall possess a double portion;

yours shall be everlasting joy. (Is 61:13, 7)

These prophetic declarations are bursting with hope and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to read them again slowly and allow the promises to sink deeply into your heart and spirit. This is how God desires to relate to each of us in all areas of our suffering. Jesus became man for this very reason: to save us from our sin and to deliver us from its horrific consequences (see Mt 1:21).

Note carefully what Jesus is offering us in these comforting words: when we are oppressed and bound up in sin, Jesus desires to lift our spirits and set us free. In all the places where our hearts have been broken by betrayal and loss, Jesus desires to tenderly minister his healing touch to restore our capacity to give and receive love. When we mourn, Jesus comes near to comfort us, strengthening us in our weakness. He longs to transform our shame into glory and give us a heritage of joy and praise to replace our listless despair. In all of this, Jesus reveals the Fathers merciful heart for each one of us in our suffering.

As if this wasnt enough, Jesus desires to come even closer to us when we are in the throes of anguish. We frail and frightened humans have a natural tendency to avoid suffering, both our own and that of the people around us, but Jesus does just the opposite. He draws ever closer to us when we are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit (see Ps 34:18). He does not want us to be alone to suffer in isolation. He comes near to comfort and to heal us (see Ps 147:3). He comes so intimately close to our suffering that he is willing to take it completely upon himself during his life, passion, and death. He reaches into the depths of our suffering, identifying himself totally with every sick, hungry, hurting, and persecuted person (see Mt 25:3536; Acts 9:5).