Redemptive Suffering

As we face deeply unsettling times of crisis around the world amidst so much anxiety and stress and for many the physical pain of illness and the passing from this life to the next I am mindful of the wisdom of Pope St John Paul II who said: "Down through the centuries it has been seen that in suffering there is concealed a particular power that draws a person interiorly close to Christ, a special grace. To this grace many saints, such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and others, owe their profound conversion. A result of this conversion is not only that the individual discovers the salvific meaning of suffering but above all that he becomes a completely new person."

The young especially can be susceptible to disproportionate fears over suffering and the future. This is why module 10i entitled: "Fertility of Suffering" of the www.fertileheart.org.uk explores with adolescents how to 'reflect on how the brokenness of life does not diminish the truth of the human calling, but through the Cross can be at the heart of even deeper growth."