Anointing of the Sick
Part 3 Introductory Materials
Chapter 31 Mystery of Suffering
Preliminary QuestionsBibliography |
ContextMystery |
MinisterTo Think About |
Preliminary Questions
If the will of the God is complete wholeness of body, mind, and spirit (see Charles Gusmer, And You Visited Me: Sacramental Ministry to the Sick and the Dying,1990, p. 91) why does the God -- if God is all powerful -- allow, permit, "stand by and watch" thousands dying every day of starvation, genocide, the holocaust, etc.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why did Jesus have to suffer?
The God of Aristotle is pure spirit, impassible, not capable of suffering. In today's world where we are so aware of the enormity of suffering to believe in such a God naturally leads to atheism. "Christian believe in a God who has turned his back on the human race" (Camu).
Bibliography
Johnson, Elizabeth, C.S.J., Ph. D. Suffering and Catholic Tradition. St. Anthony Messenger Press Tape 60 min. A6831
Sidney Callahan. Created for Joy: A Christian View of Suffering. Crossroad. 246p $19.95 (paperback)
"In empathy and love Jesus suffers not only his own pain and distress, but all the world’s past, present, and future travail. Moreover, as we have seen, empathy can be felt for the ignorant and deformed evildoers who in their moral wickedness reject the light and remain in darkness. In this sense Jesus bears the burdens and sins of humankind. He is innocent, but through loving empathy can suffer for the lethal and sinful lapses of his people. His bearing of the sins of the world is not a passive punishment laid on Jesus by God, but rather it is a voluntary act of love and empathy for the human family. A mother mourns and suffers vicariously in and with her children’s destructive sins, and so Jesus suffers for us." I have cited this passage at length, because I think it recapitulates the heart of Created for Joy. The heart is Incarnation. God so loved the world that God gave the beloved Son. Jesus so loves us that he continues to give himself, sharing our sufferings that he might in turn share with us his life. Sidney Callahan’s book, in plumbing suffering’s depths and celebrating joy’s heights, is, first and last, a love song to this loving God who creates us for joy. [From a review of the book by Rev. Robert P. Imbelli, America September 24, 2007 (197:8 Whole No. 4786), p 27.]
Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa: Come, Be My Light. The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta.
Most believers who read Come Be My Light will at some point ask, "Why would God do this?" Of course one might just as well ask, "Why is there suffering?"
In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius Loyola suggests three possible explanations for spiritual desolation. First, we may be "tepid, lazy or negligent" in prayer. Clearly this was not the case for Mother Teresa, who was utterly faithful to her daily prayer, to the Mass and to frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Second, it may test "how much we are worth and how far we will extend ourselves in the service and praise of God." Again, if Mother Teresa, who worked tirelessly until her death, did not "extend herself," who of us has? Third, it may give us "true recognition" that consolation is "a gift and grace from God our Lord." In other words, it reminds us who is in control. But after 10 or 20 years of the darkness, Mother Teresa had grasped this, as her letters to her spiritual directors demonstrate.
Any divine "reasons" for her trials remain mysterious. But with hindsight certain fruits of her suffering—besides the heightened ability to identify with the poor—may suggest themselves. (James Martini, "In My Soul" America, September 24, 2007 (197:8 Whole No. 4786), p 16.)
Context: In the spring of 2006 eight experienced ministers met over the course of a semester at Saint Meinrad School of Theology to improve their skills in ministry to the sick, dying, and bereaved. One of the concluding exercises flowing from these reflections was to write an essay on the mystery of suffering. The notes and information which follow on this page is taken, in large part, from these reflections.
Frequently during our reflections we have referred to the metaphor of the iceberg. The part of the iceberg which is visible above the surface of the water corresponds to our conscious "understanding" of suffering: i.e. the facts we have learned from medicine and biology, religion and anthropology. However, the majority of the content we give to the concept "suffering" lies unseen and often unrealized in our unconscious self -- much as the largest part of the iceberg (80%) lies unseen beneath the surface of the water. Whenever we minister to the sick, dying, or bereaved this "below the surface" content plays a key role even if we are unaware that it is influencing our ministry. Consequently it is of the utmost importance to examine these often unexpressed memories, experiences, and attitudes so that they do not affect our ministry in prejudicial way.
Mystery
HUMAN SICKNESS AND ITS MEANING IN THE MYSTERY OF SALVATION
"Suffering and illness have always been among the greatest problems that trouble the human spirit. Christians feel and experience pain as do all other people; yet their faith helps them to grasp more deeply the mystery of suffering and to bear their pain with greater courage. From Christ’s words they know that sickness has meaning and value for their own salvation and for the salvation of the world. They also know that Christ, who during his life often visited and healed the sick, loves them in their illness." (PCS, 1)
“I [Paul] am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.” (Colossians 1:24-26 NRSV)
TRR: Note: Mystery - mysterion - God's Plan for the world to be "summed up" "come to a head" in Christ. Mysterion becomes Sacramentum. Jesus is the sacrament of God. This forces us to rethink the Greek philosophers' notion of the divinity. "The sick offer a sign to the community that through the weak, the sick, and the suffering, we see Christ." [RG]
Some devotional practices put much emphasis on the suffering of Jesus. "Is there any sorrow like my sorrow?" Devotion and doctrine are not the same thing. -- For example, I have hear Catholics say: "Jesus only suffered 3 hours; I have been in intense pain 30 years!" -- "The Romans crucified hundreds and thousands of people, not just Jesus. And many hung on their crosses suffering for days; Jesus died relatively quickly!" "Those soldiers in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ were just doing their job, the job they did day in and day out. There were no more mean and cruel to Jesus than to any other criminal who came under their care, and probably less so!"
And I have heard others say: "Jesus knew that if he continued to upset the religious and civil leaders he would be arrested. Yet he went ahead deliberately. In a real sense, his death is a suicide. It not something he had no control over. I have no control over my pain. I did nothing to cause it."
Note: Incarnational theology, especially the Franciscan School, understands that God would have taken flesh and come among us even if Adam did not sin. Incarnation does necessarily imply crucifixion, suffering, and death.
When speaking of the sacrifice of Jesus (or when speaking of the sacrifice of the Mass) the focus is not on suffering but on the biblical understanding of the nature of sacrifice: joyful union with God.
Note the difference between "healing" and a "cure."
To Think About
© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved. This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M. Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own. Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it. This site was updated on 09/18/07 . Your comments on this site are welcome at webmaster2@tomrichstatter.org.