Can Pain Be Avoided in Life?

"A tree filled with thorns" Taken on March 28, 2011 during the CFC "Pearlgrimage" to the Holy Land

The thorns that were crowned on Jesus were highly likely to come from this type of tree. Abundant in Jerusalem, one can easily fashion a ring of spikes.  How great was Jesus' suffering! Each were as big as nails!

A particular saint who shared in Christ's passion of the crowning of thorns was Saint Rita of Cascia. When Saint Rita's family died, she became an Augustinian nun and devoted her life to Jesus. She was miraculously given a thorn on the forehead, just as St. Francis had a stigmata on his hands. 

"In contemplation before an image of Jesus that was very dear to her, the Jesus of Holy Saturday or, as it is also known, the Resurgent Christ, she was moved by a deeper awareness of the physical and spiritual burden of pain which Christ so freely and willingly embraced for love of her and of all humanity.  With the tender, compassionate heart of a person fully motivated by grateful love, she spoke her willingness to relieve Christ’s suffering by sharing even the smallest part of his pain.  Her offer was accepted, her prayer was answered, and Rita was united with Jesus in a profound experience of spiritual intimacy, a thorn from his crown penetrating her forehead.  The wound it caused remained open and visible until the day of her death." saintritashrine.org


St. John Paul II in his address to the pilgrims of Saint Rita reflected on this extraordinary physical mark of suffering: "The mark which shines on her forehead is the verification of her Christian maturity. On the Cross with Jesus, she is crowned in a certain way with the love that she knew and heroically expressed within her home and by her participation in the events of her town." (St. John Paul II)

Our minds and even our hearts would naturally reject the idea of pain and suffering when following Jesus, but Saint Rita expressed her willingness to share in the pain of Christ.

I once asked brethren in community: "Can pain be avoided in this life?" Further I detailed, "Can pain be avoided in a Christian Community life?" Outright their answer was "no."

We are actually aware that even in the most special and Christ-centered relationships, there can be pain.  Misunderstandings, difficult decisions, corrections, unintentional hurtful words and difference in views will always happen and may cause pain.  Similar to the story of Job, there is much pain in the loss of life of a loved one; an illness; an accident; and loss of property and resources.  There are situations also as a result of our sinfulness, would cause pain to others: gossip, slander, irresponsibility, prejudgement, and others.

If we go through pain, especially if unjustly caused, we too get a thorn on our crowns (head).  If we cause the pain because of our sins, we inflict the thorns on others affected, and on Christ – and on other victim souls like Saint Rita! Repentance, faith, healing, and forgiveness should too be a part of a Christian's response to pain.

For a Christian, the path of suffering as a way to heaven is not "sugar-coated." The symbol of our salvation is the Christ crucified. As we experience some prosperity and the purest of joys, we too share in Jesus' Paschal mystery -- his life, passion, death, and resurrection!  Yes, pain is unavoidable, but when offered in unity with Christ can work for the salvation of souls and purify us more to be like Jesus:"By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion." (CCC 1505) After every pain, when shared in Jesus, is the promise of resurrection!

Seeking What Is Right Instead of What is Easy

Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." (Luke 9:58)

What fascinated me in Beijing was that I could see so many birds nests all over the place. While travelling from one place to the next, these nests were very visible from the highway streets. It reminded me of how wonderfully God made us to be able to live and survive in this world. While in the zoo, I also took notice of the foxes that were very playful and would go in and out of their burrows. Surely the holes keep them safe and warm.

When Christ was born, he only laid on a manger. And even in his death, the tomb wasn't His. The birds and the foxes are even more comfortable than He was on occasions when truly resting was required. The Christian life is not a promise of an easy life. Its promise is a purposeful life, leading to eternal life.  When we look at the word discipline, we will see its connection to the word disciple. The cost of Discipleship is to live a disciplined life while the world presents an easy way out. Choosing to be honest instead of accepting or giving bribes, choosing to study instead of cheating in the exam, and choosing to pray and read scripture when laziness sets in.  These are some examples of discipleship amidst the comfort of worldly lures.

Secularism, relativism, consumerism, and materialism, gives in to man's resistance to discipleship.  Man refuses the discipline of Christian morality and reasons to be able to design the world according to his comfort and ease.  We can start to ask ourselves, "In what aspect of my life do I lack the discipline?".

The consequence of discipline is actually a happy life.  An easy life does not equate to a happy life. "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward" (Hebrews 11:26).  Those who are disciplined, those who can delay gratification, will reap great rewards. Although Christ suffered on earth, he was raised to be Lord of all.  While the saints and martyrs didn't have it easy, they are now in eternal happiness with the Lord in heaven.

Lord, make me strong in my conviction as a disciple. Grant me the grace of discipline, so I may seek what is right instead of what is easy.

Worth It

While in the Holy Land, we went through the "Via Dolorosa" or the way of suffering.  It also the name of the street referring to the path that Jesus walked while carrying the cross.  As part of the pilgrimage, we took turns in bearing the cross and stopping at the very locations of the fourteen stations.  The cross I carried was light.  I was not tied to it nor was I being whipped to get me moving. I did not carry it all the way to the crucifixion site and had just about 7 minutes in carrying the cross with the support of my wife Michelle at the back end. With the cold breeze, I was wrapped in my comfy jacket and scarf while Jesus was almost naked and fresh with wounds from the whipping and crowning of thorns.

It was an experience for me to even more appreciate the depth of Christ's love for mankind. He could have chosen not to suffer at all, but He chose to save us. For Him, we were worth it.

What are the crosses you carry?  Are you carrying them for the Lord, just as He carried the cross for you?  Like my experience in the Via Dolorosa, my own suffering with my crosses in life pail in comparison with the kind of physical and emotional suffering that Christ went through with His Cross.  And even yet if we suffer more than what Christ went through, can we say that Christ is worth it?

As for me, I can think of nothing else greater and more worthy than our Lord Jesus Christ.  "The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41)."

Lord, you are worth the sufferings we go through. Forgive us of the times we complain because of little discomforts, delays, or disappointments.  May we learn to value the Cross and realize daily that through Your suffering we are offered salvation.  Thank you for considering us to be worth it.  Amen.

"In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8)."

God Prepares Us For Our Life's Challenges

Finally had time to catch on with some sports activities. Thanks to my household. It's just that since I haven't really had a "real" exercise in the past months, i woke up with a sore body, hardly being able to move. I had muscle pains in places I never knew would ache. It would even hurt when I laugh.

Remembering the passion of Christ, I could just imagine the pain our Lord went through. What was even more difficult was that He knew exactly what He will be going through.  The prayer at Gethsemane must have been excruciating for Him.  Yet, despite of the knowledge of what He will suffer, He still went on with it, telling His angels not to help Him and telling God, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)."

When I reflect on the pains that I have gone through in my life, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, I think nothing can compare with the sufferings of our Lord.  We are even spared of the knowledge of our future sufferings and sacrifices.  God prepares us for our life's challenges and won't give us what we can't bear to overcome.  He helps us to go from strength to strength by enduring every problem that comes our way.

Lord, may we not forget Your great love for us, made evident by every wound and every drop of blood you gave for our sake.  We love you so and we pray that our life's sufferings and sacrifices may lead us closer to You. Amen.