The Salvific Aspect of Suffering
(ie., The fact that Suffering can be Redemptive)
– Six Benefits of Suffering –
By Fr. Wade Menezes, CPM
- Suffering unites the sufferer with Jesus Christ and His Cross.
- Suffering helps us to be more sympathetic toward others who are suffering.
- Embracing suffering helps us to expiate and make reparation for past sins; that is, the temporal punishment due for them, which must be expiated either on earth or in Purgatory.
- Suffering can be offered-up for one’s personal needs and intentions, and/or for the personal needs and intentions of others.
- Suffering strengthens personal character, thus leading to growth in such virtues as patience, fidelity and peace.
- Suffering benefits the caregiver(s), in that he/or she/or they can benefit from and strengthen their views on compassion, patience and fidelity.
NOTE: “By redeeming us, Christ did not thereby free us from our suffering or our pains or our sorrows. Just as His Resurrection is our victory and our triumph over death but does not mean we do not have to die, so Christ’s Passion has redeemed our suffering but does not mean we do not have to suffer or feel pain. Yet, His example has taught us how to look upon our suffering in a new way…”. [- Servant of God Rev. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. (d. 1984) was an American Jesuit priest convicted of being a “Vatican Spy” during World War II. He spent twenty-three years in Soviet prisons.]