Pain and Suffering at Work - Part 2
Continuing our theme of pain and suffering at work, we turn to the wisdom to be found in The Inner Life of the Soul. Since this work follows the liturgical calendar, you would think that the entries during the Christmas Season would exclude joy and peace. The do, but not exclusively. There's a surprising amount of pain and suffering, and it's not simply the typical references to those who've died of our family and friends, whom we remember with a teary eye when we hear a favorite Christmas Carol. Here's an example from the Chapter entitled "The Mystery of Pain - Feast of the Circumcision." It's referencing the week between Christmas and New Year's:
"The festival which began in poverty and darkness went on for eight days of unworldly gladness in a poor stable with the cattle. Then, as Father Faber writes, 'the scene changes, and Jesus is shedding His first drops of blood...by the hand of the priest in the synagogue upon the hill.' So the glad octave closes with the painful rite of circumcision...Can it be that His most loving Mother could endure to give pain to her little Child?
We pause and think, and gradually it dawns upon our astonished minds that, however this may be, Mary must have consented to His suffering; and as she never did anything contrary to God's holy will, and as God wills only what is good and wise, pain must have been the choice of the Infant Jesus."
Last time we referenced examples of pain and suffering at work. If you, like me, are now in the throes this, you might take a few moments to consider this little meditation on Our Lord's circumcision. We can unite ourselves to the suffering Our Lord and Our Lady endured in this one moment of pain mixed in with the joy of His Nativity. Perhaps we can learn that pain and suffering typically come to us under similarly mixed circumstances, especially at work, where we must keep our attention on the task at hand, where we need our energy to sustain us despite our pain.
Our author then reminds us of those saints who embrace their suffering in this world.
"We turn to his followers, and hear St. John of the Cross asking to suffer and be despised; and St. Teresa, either to suffer or to die; And St. Magdalen of Pazzi, to suffer and not to die; and St. Paul, the Apostle of the Holy Ghost, exclaiming grandly: 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
And so we who bring pain and suffering to our work today find ourselves surrounded with others in the same boat, beginning with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and extending throughout the ages with the saints. In our own time, we likely know some one or more people in this state. We are by no means alone.
Of course, knowing this may not alleviate our own pain and suffering. If so, we have the grace-filled opportunity to offer up our pain and suffering to God for others.
We also have the opportunity to ask for God's grace that we may accept our suffering. We ask also for the strength we will need to diligently perform our duties today, as we know we must. While this can add to or exacerbate our already tender condition. it can also help us to know what it really means to trust in God. We can deepen our understanding of "Our hope is in the name of the Lord." Ultimately, by God's grace, it can draw us closer to Him.
A last thought: If you see someone you know who is in pain, who is suffering today, even if it's not a friend or close acquaintance, seek the opportunity to lend a helpful hand or a consoling word or gesture. At the very least, offer up prayers, perhaps even some small sacrifice, for them, even if they don't know you're doing that.
"The festival which began in poverty and darkness went on for eight days of unworldly gladness in a poor stable with the cattle. Then, as Father Faber writes, 'the scene changes, and Jesus is shedding His first drops of blood...by the hand of the priest in the synagogue upon the hill.' So the glad octave closes with the painful rite of circumcision...Can it be that His most loving Mother could endure to give pain to her little Child?
We pause and think, and gradually it dawns upon our astonished minds that, however this may be, Mary must have consented to His suffering; and as she never did anything contrary to God's holy will, and as God wills only what is good and wise, pain must have been the choice of the Infant Jesus."
Last time we referenced examples of pain and suffering at work. If you, like me, are now in the throes this, you might take a few moments to consider this little meditation on Our Lord's circumcision. We can unite ourselves to the suffering Our Lord and Our Lady endured in this one moment of pain mixed in with the joy of His Nativity. Perhaps we can learn that pain and suffering typically come to us under similarly mixed circumstances, especially at work, where we must keep our attention on the task at hand, where we need our energy to sustain us despite our pain.
Our author then reminds us of those saints who embrace their suffering in this world.
"We turn to his followers, and hear St. John of the Cross asking to suffer and be despised; and St. Teresa, either to suffer or to die; And St. Magdalen of Pazzi, to suffer and not to die; and St. Paul, the Apostle of the Holy Ghost, exclaiming grandly: 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
And so we who bring pain and suffering to our work today find ourselves surrounded with others in the same boat, beginning with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and extending throughout the ages with the saints. In our own time, we likely know some one or more people in this state. We are by no means alone.
Of course, knowing this may not alleviate our own pain and suffering. If so, we have the grace-filled opportunity to offer up our pain and suffering to God for others.
We also have the opportunity to ask for God's grace that we may accept our suffering. We ask also for the strength we will need to diligently perform our duties today, as we know we must. While this can add to or exacerbate our already tender condition. it can also help us to know what it really means to trust in God. We can deepen our understanding of "Our hope is in the name of the Lord." Ultimately, by God's grace, it can draw us closer to Him.
A last thought: If you see someone you know who is in pain, who is suffering today, even if it's not a friend or close acquaintance, seek the opportunity to lend a helpful hand or a consoling word or gesture. At the very least, offer up prayers, perhaps even some small sacrifice, for them, even if they don't know you're doing that.
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