Suffering
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D., Litt.D.
All my Sermons are prepared in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament. As Recreation is most
Pleasant and Profitable in the Sun, so Homiletic Creativity is Best Nourished before the
Eucharist. The most Brilliant Ideas come from meeting
God Face-to-Face. The Holy Spirit that Presided at the
Incarnation is the Best Atmosphere for Illumination. Pope
John Paul II keeps a Small Desk or Writing Pad near him whenever he is in the Presence of the
Blessed Sacrament; and I have done this all my Life—I am sure for the same Reason he does, because a
Lover always Works Better when the Beloved
is with him.
Think of how much Suffering there is in Hospitals, among the
Poor, and the Bereaved.
Think also of how much of that Suffering
Goes-to-Waste!
How many of those Lonesome, Suffering,
Abandoned, Crucified
Souls are saying with Our Lord at the
Moment of Consecration, "This is my
Body. Take it"? And yet that is what
we all should be saying at that Second:
I give myself to God.
Here is my body. Take it.
Here is my blood. Take it.
Here is my Soul, my Will, my Energy, my Strength,
My Property, my Wealth - all that I have. It is Yours.
Take it! Offer it! Offer it with Thyself to the Heavenly Father
In order that He, looking down on this Great Sacrifice,
May see only Thee, His Beloved Son, in Whom He is Well Pleased.
Transmute the Poor Bread of my Life into Thy Divine Life;
Thrill the Wine of my Wasted Life into Thy Divine Spirit;
Unite my Broken Heart with Thy Heart;
Change my Cross into a Crucifix.
Let not my Abandonment, and my Sorrow, and my Bereavement go to Waste.
Gather up the Fragments,
And as the Drop of Water is Absorbed by the Wine at the Offertory of the Mass,
Let my Life be Absorbed in Thee;
Let my little-Cross be Entwined with Thy Great Cross,
so that I may Purchase the Joys of Everlasting Happiness in Union with Thee.
Consecrate these Trials of my Life which would go Unrewarded, unless United with Thee;
Transubstantiate me so that like Bread which is now Thy Body,
And Wine which is now Thy Blood, I too may be Wholly Thee.
I care not if the Species Remain, or that, like the Bread and the Wine,
I Seem to all Earthly Eyes the Same as before.
My Station in Life, my Routine Duties, my Work, my Family -
All these are but the Species of my Life which may Remain Unchanged;
But the Substance of my Life, my Soul, my Mind, my Will, my Heart -
Transubstantiate them, Transform them Wholly into Thy Service,
So that through me all may know how Sweet is the Love of Christ.
Amen
(by Saint Alphonsus Liquori)
(by Father Paul K. Raftery, O.P.)
(Several Short Treatises on Suffering
- from the Saints)
(by Theologian, Father William G. Most)
(by Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P.)
Apostolic Letter on the Power of Salvific Suffering -
by Pope John Paul II)
(by Father Boniface McConville, O.F.M. -
with Imprimatur by Cardinal Francis J. Spellman)
(by Theologian, Father William G. Most)
(by Father Paul K. Raftery, O.P.)
(by the Most Reverend Lewis Fiorelli, O.S.F.S., S.T.D. - Compassion means to
be Willing to Suffer along with Someone Else,
to be Willing to Freely Join them in their Painful Experience so as to
Share that Pain with them and thereby to Lessen it for them.)
(by Saint Alphonsus Liguori - In Tribulations, God Enriches His Beloved Souls
with the Greatest Graces)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D. - It was not in the Plan of God that Suffering
and Death be a part of Human Existence. It was Man's Free-Will that Upset what God had Planned.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.
- A look at the Gospel Account of Jesus' Encounter with the Suffering Canaanite Woman)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Father Charles Irvin, M.Div, J.D.)
(by Thomas à Kempis, a Representative of Mediaeval German Mysticism. Book Two, the
Interior Life, deals extensively with our Suffering along with Jesus. "If, indeed, there
were Anything Better or More Useful for Man's Salvation than Suffering, Christ would have shown it by Word and
Example". Next to the Bible, The Imitation of Christ is the Second most Published Book
of all Time.)
Audio Clips on Suffering
An 8 minute Homily by Father Leo Clifford
on your Cross and Suffering
A short 6 minute Spiritual Reflection
on Suffering by Father Frank Pavone
An excellent talk by Father Robert Spitzer
on how Suffering can be the most
meaningful moments of our lives
by Father Paul Hinnebush, O.P., STM
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Pay the Debt of Men's Sins;
