+JMJ
"Bernard of Clairvaux coined the marvelous expression: Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis—God cannot suffer, but he can suffer with. Man is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with man in an utterly real way—in flesh and blood—as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus's Passion. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God's compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises. . the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope."
(Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI)
One of the preeminent virtues that can be found in the lives of the saints is not only the ability to suffer patiently, but to do so while selflessly caring for the needs of others. St. Maximilian Kolbe- a man already weakened by a long battle with tuberculosis- was forcibly huddled with nine other men in a starvation bunker in Auschwitz, where he encouraged his fellow sufferers with hymns and hopeful exhortations, ministering to the last until he was left to die alone. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who endured many severe trials- dire poverty following the loss of her beloved husband, abandonment by friends and family after her conversion- selflessly mothered her fledgling community, even while inwardly grieving the loss of her two daughters, whom she buried while struggling to secure a firm foundation for her Sisters of Charity. And St. Zelie Martin- sufferer of frequent migraines and later breast cancer- so refused to allow her physical ailments and personal losses (that of 4 small children) to prevent her from using up all her strength in service to her family and Our Lord that she was finally forced to relinquish her cherished practice of attending daily Mass because her fading strength would not allow her to open the door of the church.
This desire to set aside one's own sorrows in order to empty oneself out for another finds its source of strength and hope in the Cross of Christ. In his encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI says:
"Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the 'yes' to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my 'I', in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love."
As the first and best disciple of her Son, Our Lady exemplifies this total gift of self, even as the sword of sorrow plunged deep into her soul. How great must have been her need to be consoled, in the midst of her agony, as she watched her beloved Son, her tender boy, being defiled, humiliated, and mercilessly torn apart? But as her Son consoled his followers despite his excruciating pain, so too she would accept her vocation to comfort and console her newly adopted children- given to her by Christ on the Cross- despite the agonizing pain that pierced her heart. How bravely she once again gave her fiat to Her Son when she heard those words,"Woman behold your son." How courageously she persevered in her motherly role, even as she felt the second painful separation from her Son as he later ascended into heaven.
If the will to win can drive the athlete to ignore all pain in the pursuit of earthly glory, surely the will to love can motivate the faithful Christian to overcome all physical and emotional pain in the pursuit of heavenly glory? For it is a decision of the will, not a passing fancy of the heart, to set aside the personal sorrows that dwell deep therein, in order to encourage and comfort those without. Yet though this generous soul may forego the need for human consolation in the pursuit of truly loving another, he must remember that God will never abandon him, and will be comfort him in the hidden solitude of his soul:
"The Latin word con-solatio, “consolation”, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude. . . Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God's compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises."
