Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
‘He Calls Us to Suffer with Him.’
“For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.” – Heb 10:14
This passage comes from our second reading from Mass today, and is centered on Jesus acting as The High Priest, making the ultimate single sacrifice; to suffer and die on the cross to save us from our sins. For us, amidst suffering, it is easy to feel abandoned, and doubt God’s plan for our lives. It is even common for many to blame God and even outright denounce God amidst great suffering.
My father had stage-four colon cancer back in the early 2010s, with less than a 5% chance to live. My family was devastated, knowing that we would lose our father, yet my dad was unexpectedly peaceful. My parents had a mantra to life that they have never deviated from in their marriage: “God will always give the best outcome out of the worst situation.” I had a hard time believing this mantra during this trial and even was resentful toward God, yet my parents slowly softened my heart with God’s love amidst this suffering. In a great turn of events, we believe God gave our family a miracle and took my father’s cancer away.
The lesson in this story, and in the second reading, is that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to save us from our sins, not so we can no longer suffer, but so that we can bear suffering with Him. Especially in our comfortable modern world today, it is easy to have an aversion to suffering. In Fr. Jacques Philippe’s book Interior Freedom he says: “The worst pain of suffering lies in rejecting it.”
Do not fear the suffering in your life. God called each of the saints to suffer, and all they had to do was the next right thing, and to trust God to become saints. Ask God for the grace to embrace what He asks of you, even the suffering, so that you can grow closer to Him in holiness. Don’t lose sight of the truth that God will always give an equal or greater joy in your life from your suffering.
Reflection by Luke, seminarian
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections