Redemptive Suffering (Part 1)

Yesterday we reflected on four causes sorrow, that if prolonged can lead to depression. We should do all we can to change what is bad. However, if we cannot change our suffering, there is still a way forward; we can unite our suffering and sorrow to Christ. He uses it to bring us to transforming union with God, the goal of life and he uses it to save the souls of others.  This is what led St. Paul to say “It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church.” If the suffering of Christ was sufficient to save the world – why would Paul say he wants to make up all that still has to be undergone by Christ? Because God invites us to participate in all he does. This idea of participation is where we get the phrase “offer it up” and it is why Jesus says we cannot be his disciples unless we take up our own cross and follow him every day.  Still “offering it up” is a very misunderstood Catholic thing, but once we understand how God has given us a way to participate in his being and action, your suffering can become a powerful force to live with meaning, hope and happiness.           Participation in Divine Being and Action     To understand how we can help others by our suffering we must grasp one of the most fundamental and neglected ideas in Catholic theology, that of participation. This is the idea that:     God has enabled us to share in His being and action in a way that does not add to, subtract from, or compete with His being and action.      In the material realm, “sharing” means dividing up limited resources. If you share your pizza with me, I’m subtracting from your pizza. And if we split a pizza, the more you take the less I’ll be able to have. There’s a competition. But sharing or participating in the immaterial or spiritual realm isn’t like that. If I go to a lecture about something I have no knowledge of the professor will share his knowledge with me, but I won’t be taking away or adding to or competing with any of his knowledge about the topic. My knowledge will depend on his, but his won’t depend on mine – so I’m participating in his knowledge in a way that doesn’t threaten his primacy or expertise in any respect.     What’s true of this example of teaching and learning is true of all the various ways God wills that we participate in His being and action.     God lets us share in His being. On the natural level, our existence is dependent on the existence of God, not vice versa, since He exists in Himself and we exist by sharing in or participating in the existence of God. Moreover, God exists infinitely, so our existence doesn’t so much add to His existence as participate in it: He is the God “in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Then, through the staggering generosity and presence of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying grace raises our sharing in God’s being to the supernatural level, such that we become, in the words of St. Peter, “partakers in the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4). The fact that we are invited to share in the very nature of God led St. Augustine and St. Thomas to say: God became man so that man could become god.      God also lets us share in His action. In particular, the theological virtues allow us to operate at a level above the merely human, since they “adapt man’s faculties for participation in the divine nature.” By faith we know divine truth, by hope we participate in God’s love for ourselves, and by Charity we participate in God’s love for God – which will be the apex of heavenly happiness.     So it shouldn’t be surprising that when God became man, and shared in our life, He also opened up new avenues for us to participate in His character and mission. In other words, we participate in Jesus’ being and His action too. We share in His divine sonship, and we look forward to sharing in His death and Resurrection.