Accepting Our Suffering

As I have been praying the Stations of the Cross these past couple of weeks one of the prayers that really causes me to pause is the one for the second station, Jesus Accepts His Cross. I use “The Way of the Cross” composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori and the words are, “My most beloved Jesus, I embrace all the sufferings You have destined for me until death. I beg You, by all You suffered in carrying Your cross, to help me carry mine with Your perfect peace and resignation.”  

Is this something that I really want to pray for? When I hear about people dying in a fire after being badly burned I have prayed that I won’t have to endure such a terrible death. I have prayed for a peaceful death, that I would just die in my sleep.  It would make it easier on me and my loved ones knowing that I did not suffer. Working with my families at the hospital, this is the number one concern. If the child is old enough, they often ask if it is going to hurt when they die. They want to know how they are going to die. Are the tumors in their lungs going to keep growing until they can’t breathe anymore? Will they suffocate? And the parents and family members also ask if their child is going to suffer. They want us to do everything in our power to make sure they are not in pain. And while this is always our goal, it is not always possible to make their death pain-free and peaceful.

Over the years I have witnessed many, many children go through the dying process and have been privileged to be at the bedside of several of them as they pass from this life to eternal life. I have learned from these children how to endure suffering and to remain hopeful through the most difficult moments in life. They have shown me how to be united with Christ in his suffering, and while they may not understand why they have to go through this, they know that God is with them. Witnessing their unwavering trust in our Lord has given me the courage to begin to pray this prayer with sincerity. That I may embrace all the suffering that God has destined for me until death. A patient died on Tuesday who endured great suffering throughout the 10 years since his diagnosis of cancer and especially over these last 6 months. Those of us around him often wondered why he had to suffer so much but this young man embraced every moment of his life. He took his suffering in stride and knew with such conviction that he would soon be with his King.

“The Redeemer suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished. He is called to share in that suffering through which all human suffering has also been redeemed. In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ”.  Blessed John Paul II, from his Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris