We live in a society that teaches us to avoid pain and suffering at all costs. Some people even use this as an argument for abortion and euthanasia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPoor thing is already suffering so much; we must help him\/her die.\u201d \u201cThat poor baby is going to have a horrible life full of suffering; you have to abort it.\u201d In other words, kill him or her without giving that person a chance to live. Naturally, we want to avoid suffering and help others, but we know that the above reasoning is not justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither we nor God want to see anyone suffer. So much so that Christians have been pioneers in all kinds of charitable work throughout the world and in countless ways of helping others: schools, hospitals, orphanages, shelters, soup kitchens, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s be honest: pain and suffering are part of this life. I do not know a single person who has gone through life without experiencing some kind of trauma, pain, or suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both pain and suffering can help us grow as human beings\u2014something that is extremely important and would not take place without them\u2014and they can also teach us to appreciate the good things in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For us Catholics, pain can be a form of purification of the soul. While this does not mean that we should be masochistic, there are times when we cannot avoid pain, suffering, or even unpleasant emotions such as anger and sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout my journey in this life, I have learned that a very positive way of dealing with these negative emotions is to avoid becoming consumed by them. Instead, we can turn the situation to our advantage by offering that suffering or those emotions to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God can use our suffering for the forgiveness of our sins or for the benefit of someone else\u2014for example, for the conversion of the people around us or for those whom we believe are in need. The point is to give our suffering meaning and not allow it to be in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every time someone hurts me or I have a problem with someone, I offer God all the pain and discomfort that the situation has caused me. I ask Him to use it for the needs of the person who hurt me and to help me heal from the wounds that the situation has caused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another example is the case of the dying. There is a tendency to avoid pain at all costs. It is not wrong to use medication to alleviate pain; however, euthanasia is never justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have the Anointing of the Sick,<\/a> and the Last Rites, through which the Holy Spirit intervenes. The sick person may recover and improve, or, if it is God\u2019s will, the sacrament can help prepare the person to die peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is why euthanasia is unnecessary. In this context, suffering can have a purpose: the purification of the soul and the forgiveness of sins. If we ultimately should end up in purgatory, perhaps we can avoid it or at least reduce our time there by using and offering our suffering to God as a way of helping purify our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They asked Our Lady to take them with her to Heaven. She promised that she would, with the exception of Lucia, who was to remain on earth to make the message known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The children were very devout. They prayed the Rosary and offered penance, fasting, and sacrifices for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. Both eventually died as victims of the Spanish flu, although at different times. Jacinta suffered greatly for months and, from what we know, did not complain about her suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used to wonder how children who were so close to the Virgin Mary and to God could have to endure such painful deaths. Jacinta died alone; I am not sure whether Francisco did as well. One day, however, I came to understand something: we human beings are imperfect and wounded simply by the fact that we are human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. Revelation 21:27<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n God allowed this suffering for the children for their purification, and through it, the Virgin could fulfill her promise and take them to Heaven as she had said. I know they are children, but even so, they are not exempt\u2014much less all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, they can tell me, but what do you know about suffering? Have you had cancer? Have you lived through a war? Has someone in your family died? As I said previously, we have all suffered in this life; however, I understand that there are those who have experienced much worse than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To know how to face suffering without losing our faith, we can take the martyrs as an example. They are martyrs because they decided to give their lives in defense of faith and truth for something much bigger, without caring about their suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And no, it is not that they did not suffer, but their mission is greater than that. We have several examples, such as Saint Stephen in the New Testament, who was stoned to death and forgave his attackers before dying. All the apostles and many others, including our most recent Mexican cristeros like St Jose Sanchez del Rio.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, the book that is often referenced is the Book of Job<\/a> in the Old Testament, from which everything was taken: his property and wealth, his loved ones, and his health. Despite that, he never lost faith, blamed God, or stopped being thankful to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The central character of this book came to discover the face of the true God through suffering. For this, he had to give up his own wisdom and his claim to consider himself just.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The path that the Christian must follow is no other; it is illuminated by the message of the cross, which gives a completely new meaning to the mystery of human pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church (Col. 1,24<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the children of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta<\/a>. They were very good and pious children who learned to pray the Rosary and came to understand the existence of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell through the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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