The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
For the past several years, Lent has come naturally to me. I found myself in an extended period of suffering to the point where it didn’t take much for me to enter into this season - it just felt right. Unlike in years prior where I may have struggled more to unite myself to Christ’s suffering, these times I felt it. Fortunately, that season has ended for me. Looking back on those years it all starts to make more sense as I reflect more fully (and less emotionally) on the meaning and purpose of suffering.
I recently rewatched the movie Father Stu and found it a worthy reflection as we enter into the Lenten season. A quote by Father Stu towards the end of the movie really resonated with me as he cautions that, “we shouldn’t pray for an easy life, but the strength to endure a difficult one.” For those unfamiliar with his story, Father Stu was a troubled, foul-mouthed boxer who ultimately found Jesus later in life and became a priest. But before his ordination he was diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder that claimed his life by age 50. Despite his terminal diagnosis, he continued to minister joyfully and give thanks to God, remarkably finding purpose in his suffering all the way up until his death.
As Christians, it serves us well to be reminded that there is hope in suffering. And not just hope that the suffering will end (because that is never guaranteed in this life), but the hope that our suffering can actually be used for good. As we hear in today’s second reading, “Christ suffered for sins once…that he might lead you to God.” This is the ultimate and most perfect example of redemptive suffering, and we can do our best to imitate Jesus by seeing our suffering similarly in hopes that it may lead others to God. When our suffering is animated by a sincere love for God, it has the potential to conform our hearts to Christ and make us more like him. As St. Peter reminds us today, death in the flesh leads to life in the spirit!
So, this Lent, whether we may be experiencing the natural sufferings of life or the sufferings we impose upon ourselves with our Lenten practice, let’s do our best to think of or offer this for others, so that it may be redemptive! Although we may be tempted to pray for an easy, frictionless life, how much better it is for ourselves (and for others!) to obtain the strength to endure a difficult one.
Lord, we ask for the strength to suffer gracefully this Lenten season and always.
Nick Balser is a husband, father, finance professional and Texan living in Denver, CO. Nick works for Undivided Life, an organization aiming to bring life to work and work to life through strategy and culture consulting. Check them out on LinkedIn.