The Solidarity of Suffering

Pain. You can’t live with it. You can’t live without it. Our lives are filled with suffering. The lives of some people have more suffering in them than the lives of others. However, as humans, we all must deal with suffering in some form or another, at one point or another.

When we suffer, complaining comes easily. We let the pain consume our lives, and focus on finding whatever way we can to make the suffering end.

Society seems to view suffering as the greatest evil. Honestly, it can be hard to disagree. That is, until you understand the position of the culture of life.

You see, suffering is a necessary part of life. Suffering, however, can be more than a burden. It can be an opportunity. Suffering is an opportunity for virtue. It allows us to practice patience. It allows us to truly show the strength of our character. Most importantly, it grants us a special opportunity to love and be loved.

When someone around you is suffering, you are more easily called to action in love. You can show someone how much you care by caring in the difficult times when he or she needs caring the most.

When those around us are suffering, we have a special opportunity to show solidarity. We can give of ourselves to them, when we have a clearer idea of how to give of ourselves. When a person is perfectly happy, we may struggle to find ways to give of ourselves, or completely forget about this call. But when another is suffering, we have a special, stronger inner call to action, an inner call to love.

Conversely, when you yourself are suffering, you can fight the pain by focusing on others instead of yourself. You can offer up the suffering for someone you love, for someone, perhaps, who is going through difficult times as well.

When we kill someone to end his or her suffering, we are refusing to love. We are refusing to stand in solidarity. Rather than being there to help a person through to the end of an ordeal, we choose to end that person’s life. We would rather see that person die than see him or her suffer. We can’t be strong and stay with that person through the ordeal, to the ordeal’s natural end.

So, next time you are in an unpleasant situation, next time you feel pain, next time you suffer, remember to bring meaning to your suffering by baptizing it in love. As a wise man once told me, love without suffering is meaningless, and suffering without love is unendurable. And when your suffering becomes so great that you begin to doubt its meaning, remember Christ on the cross.