JPII’s Secret Weapon
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Colossians 1:24-27
St. John Paul II is one of my all-time heroes. As pope, he traveled to every part of the globe. The first thing he would do when visiting a new place was visit a hospital. The reason he did this surprised me. I figured he was merely following Jesus’ directive to comfort the sick. But JPII had another motive that I would later discover.
In 1984, he wrote an apostolic letter called “On the Christian Meaning of Suffering”. I was blown away by what he wrote and want to share it with you today.
“St. Paul speaks of true joy in the letter to the Colossians: “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.” A source of joy is found in overcoming the sense of uselessness of suffering, a feeling that is sometimes very strongly rooted in human suffering. This feeling not only consumes the person interiorly, but seems to make him a burden to others. The person feels condemned to receive help and assistance from others, and at the same time seems useless to himself. The discovery of the salvific meaning of suffering in union with Christ transforms this depressing feeling.
Faith in sharing in the suffering of Christ brings with it the interior certainty that the suffering person “completes what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Col 1:24)”; the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemption he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. Therefore, he is carrying out an irreplaceable service. In the body of Christ, which is ceaselessly born of the cross of the Redeemer, it is precisely suffering permeated by the spirit of Christ’s sacrifice that is the irreplaceable mediator and author of the good things that are indispensable for the world’s salvation. It is suffering more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption. In that “cosmic” struggle between the spiritual powers of good and evil, spoke of in the letter to the Ephesians, human sufferings, united to the redemptive suffering of Christ, continue a special support for the powers of good, and open the way to the victory of these salvific powers.”(1)
I had to read this a few times to understand it. The bottom line is that when we unite our sufferings to the sufferings of Jesus, we help to bring God’s grace into the world and into individual hearts and souls. We’re sharing in the work of salvation in a most powerful way (maybe even THE most powerful way).
This is the reason John Paul II would always go to hospitals first on his trips and why he would ask the sick to pray for him and the success of his mission. He knew that those who were suffering could have the greatest impact with their prayers. They were his secret weapon in bringing others to Jesus. In the eyes of the world, these people seemed helpless and useless. But in the eyes of JPII, they were doing the most important work possible.
The next time you feel helpless or useless in the face of suffering, look at a Crucifix and consider that Jesus’ greatest accomplishment, His greatest work, occurred when He was nailed to a tree and unable to “do” anything. In His weakest moment, He offered His suffering to the Father out of love for us and in so doing, made salvation possible for everyone who loves Him. Your suffering has purpose and will bring about great good if you offer it to Jesus. In fact, it will probably be the most important work you ever do.
References:
Pope John Paul II. “On the Christian Meaning of Suffering: Salvifici Doloris”. (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 1984), pp. 46-47.