Enduring Suffering, Sorrows and Afflictions
Dearest Spiritual Ohana,
Certain things are a given in life: sufferings, sorrows, afflictions, challenges and trials. How many of you are able to say that you have not ever succumbed to any of these? Probably, none of us have completely avoided all of these! Though we may not want to or intend to go to these, we inevitably do!
Our Lord, in being incarnated in the flesh, in His Abundance of Love for humankind, has endured all these Himself, for our sake! In doing so, He fully knows all the sufferings of humankind, and is not oblivious to what we go through, but rather fully experienced and empathizes with us in all it means to be human, because He became fully human. “And the Word (Logos) became flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
The Saints have articulated the truth behind our purposeful role in endurance of suffering, sorrow, affliction, challenge and trial. I would like to share with you their wisdom in all of this, as they put what we have to endure into proper perspective.
1) St Ambrose of Optina
“A continuously happy life produces extremely unhappy consequences. In nature we see that there are not always pleasant springs and fruitful summers, and sometimes autumn is rainy and winter cold and snowy, and there is flooding and wind and storms, and moreover the crops fail and there are famine, troubles, sicknesses and many other misfortunes. All of this is beneficial so that man might learn through prudence, patience and humility. For the most part, in times of plenty he forgets himself, but in times of various sorrows he becomes more attentive to his salvation.”
2) St Nikon of Optina
“A life without sorrows is a sign of God’s disapproval. We should not envy those who live without sorrows, for the end of their sorrowlessness is grievous.”
3) St. Nikolai Velimirovich
“Blessed is the man who uses his sufferings, knowing that all suffering in this brief life is loosed on men by God in His love for mankind, for the benefit and assistance of men. In His mercy, God looses suffering on men because of their sins – by His mercy and not His justice. For, if it were by His justice, every sin would inevitably bring death, as the Apostle says: “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1: 15). In place of death, God gives healing through suffering. Suffering is God’s way of healing the soul of its sinful leprosy and its death.”
4) Elder Arsenie Papaciac
“My dear, suffering is a gift from God! It is a mistake to run from your own suffering. You are truly free only when you are struggling, when you are present on the cross. Suffering brings deep wisdom and make you reflect more seriously on your salvation.”
5) Elder Ephraim of Katounakia
“Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.”
6) Elder Sophrony
“Sufferings bear so much fruit that if we were a little wiser we would not want to ‘come down from the cross.’”
7) St Barsanuphius of Optina
“You need not be despondent. Let those be despondent who do not believe in God. For them sorrow is burdensome, of course, because besides earthly enjoyment they have nothing. But believers must not be despondent, for through sorrows they receive the right of sonship, without which is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
8) St John of Kronstadt
“The Lord, as an artful physician, subjects us to various trials, sorrows, illnesses, and misfortunes, in order to purify us like gold in the furnace. A soul that is hardened in various sins does not easily undergo cleansing and healing, but has to be forced to a great extent, and only through lengthy experience in patience and suffering does it become accustomed to virtue and begins to love God, from Whom it was alienated after becoming attached to all kinds of mortal sins. Such is the purpose of the trials and tribulations sent to us by God in this life.”
May our Lord give us strength in enduring all things for His Namesake!
With Love in Christ,
+Fr. Alexander