Suffering and Hope

Today's Short Reading for the breviary is taken from Judith 8:25-26,27. In it we are told: "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God who, as he tested our ancestors, is now testing us. Remember how he treated Abraham, all the ordeals of Isaac and all that happened to Jacob. For as these ordeals were intended by him to search their hearts, so now this is not vengeance that God exacts against us, but a warning inflicted by the Lord on those who are near his heart." This text addresses one of the fundamental problems of our existence. How can we understand God and human suffering? How can God who is supremely good allow so much suffering? Indeed, this problem reaches the very core of our heart as we ask ourselves, "Why does this person I love suffer so much?" "Why do I have to carry this burden of my own suffering?" The challenge that human suffering sets before us is ultimately one of trust. Is it possible to trust God? And so we reason, "He could prevent all this suffering. He does not. It can only be because He does not really love us. Or perhaps it is for the things that I have done wrong. He has not forgiven me." The answer to human suffering cannot be found in philosophy nor science. Human experience and the great tradition of human reflection over the centuries has always run aground when challenged with the reality of suffering, especially the suffering of the innocent. As Christians we approach the problem from faith. Underlying our pain and suffering is the absolute affirmation that God is Love. That He so loves us that He sent His only Son to redeem us. We believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to open the kingdom of heaven. This is the great truth that crashes through the darkness and despair brought on by suffering. This is the truth that rips through the bonds of despair that would empty our heart of all hope. We may not understand the why of our suffering. We do know, we are certain, that God allows it in our lives because He is love. There is a logic that transcends all human understanding. It is that of God. To us His plans seem to be like the wind that blows where it will and we cannot see from where it is coming nor where it is going. We cannot fathom his reasons, we cannot see His logic. We do know his purpose: God wills that we all be saved. We do know that He sent His Son into this world to save all mankind. We do know that He established His Church as the universal sacrament of salvaltion. He gave us the sacraments. He made us a community, a family united by the power of the Holy Spirit. We suffer. We can understand some of it. We cannot grasp its full significance nor depth. Nevertheless, we can hope. Hope is, as Pope Benedict so wonderfully said, the absolute certainty that no matter what God loves us. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to hope.

The Power of A Mother's Love

There is something so special about mothers. We know it instinctively. As the philosophers would say, "It is self-evident".

One of the things that strikes me is the power of a mother's love. Love is to will the good of the other. It means the giving of oneself in some way for the good of the other person. When a mother teaches or corrects her child moved out of love, she does so for their good. She is not looking for social recognition. She is not looking for riches. She is looking for the good, that which will truly make her child happy.

This means that at times she has to make hard decisions. Decisions that are not popular. Because of her love, she finds the strength, the courage and the power to forge ahead for the good of her child.

The Lord entrusted us all to his Mother at the foot of the cross. He knew why he did what he did. He knows the heart of a mother, the power of her love, and he knew as no son could ever know the heart of his own Mother.

What a gift it is for us Christians to have Mary as our Mother. Let us take a bit time during this month dedicated to her, to thank her for her powerful protection. She seeks nothing but our lasting good, our true happiness. She wants nothing more than that each one of us come to the knowledge and love of her Son and in this way to Eternal Life.

If we are afraid, if we feel lost, if we are confused, saddened or disheartened, let us turn to Mary and ask her for her protection and help. She is powerful because she is His Mother. She is powerful because she has the heart of a mother and she loves us with a mother's love.