He asks the meaning of his suffering and seeks an answer to this question on the human level. It can be said that the above considerations now brings us directly to Gethsemane and Golgotha, where the Song of the Suffering Servant, contained in the Book of Isaiah, was fulfilled. With his suffering he accepts that question whichposed by people many timeshas been expressed, in a certain sense, in a radical way by the Book of Job. It is precisely the Church, which ceaselessly draws on the infinite resources of the Redemption, introducing it into the life of humanity, which is the dimension in which the redemptive suffering of Christ can be constantly completed by the suffering of man. I now end the present considerations on suffering in the year in which the Church is living the extraordinary Jubilee linked to the anniversary of the Redemption. Nevertheless, it often takes time, even a long time, for this answer to begin to be interiorly perceived. 21. Is. In view of all this, we can say that the parable of the Samaritan of the Gospel has become one of the essential elements of moral culture and universally human civilization. For, whoever suffers in union with Christ just as the Apostle Paul bears his "tribulations" in union with Christ not only receives from Christ that strength already referred to but also "completes" by his suffering "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions". The joy comes from the discovery of the meaning of suffering, and this discovery, even if it is most personally shared in by Paul of Tarsus who wrote these words, is at the same time valid for others. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question.In a wider The Resurrection revealed this gloryeschatological glorywhich, in the Cross of Christ, was completely obscured by the immensity of suffering. 29. Even though in its subjective dimension, as a personal fact contained within man's concrete and unrepeatable interior, suffering seems almost inexpressible and not transferable, perhaps at the same time nothing else requires as much as does suffering, in its "objective reality", to be dealt with, meditated upon, and conceived as an explicit problem; and that therefore basic questions be asked about it and the answers sought. Saint Paul speaks of such joy in the Letter to the Colossians: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake"(88). Man suffers in different ways, ways not always considered by medicine, not even in its most advanced specializations. Gethsemane is the place where precisely this suffering, in all the truth expressed by the Prophet concerning the evil experienced in it, is revealed as it were definitively before the eyes of Christ's soul. 13. The college was named in honor of the departed Methodist bishop John Emory. Christianity proclaims the essential good of existence and the good of that which exists, acknowledges the goodness of the Creator and proclaims the good of creatures. Job however challenges the truth of the principle that identifies suffering with punishment for sin. While it is true that suffering has a meaning as punishment, when it is connected with a fault, it is not true that all suffering is a consequence of a fault and has the nature of a punishment. In a certain way it is a foretelling of the Passion of Christ. Marc. 6. And even though the victory over sin and death achieved by Christ in his Cross and Resurrection does not abolish temporal suffering from human life, nor free from suffering the whole historical dimension of human existence, it nevertheless throws a new light upon this dimension and upon every suffering: the light of salvation. It can be said that man suffers whenever he experiences any kind of evil. The words of that prayer of Christ in Gethsemane prove the truth of love through the truth of suffering. (8) Talis fuit Abrahae (cfr. WebThe bigger picture with the latest news from Australia and across the world. The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world's redemption. WebPlease fill in the details below to sign up for Carleton360 so we can provide you with the information you're looking for. A result of such a conversion is not only that the individual discovers the salvific meaning of suffering but above all that he becomes a completely new person. 15. The opinion expressed by Job's friends manifests a conviction also found in the moral conscience of humanity: the objective moral order demands punishment for transgression, sin and crime. (15) Haec perpessi sunt sive Iob (cfr. Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. It is especially consoling to noteand also accurate in accordance with the Gospel and historythat at the side of Christ, in the first and most exalted place, there is always his Mother through the exemplary testimony that she bears by her whole life to this particular Gospel of suffering. psalmistarum questus (cfr. This parable witnesses to the fact that Christ's revelation of the salvific meaning of suffering is in no way identified with an attitude of passivity. 22 [21], 2-3; Ps. If, in fact, the Cross was to human eyes Christ's emptying of himself, at the same time it was in the eyes of God his being lifted up. Both questions are difficult, when an individual puts them to another individual, when people put them to other people, as also when man puts them to God. 19); Ieremias (cfr. ", his words are not only an expression of that abandonment which many times found expression in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and in particular in that Psalm 22 [21] from which come the words quoted(47). Those who share in Christ's sufferings have before their eyes the Paschal Mystery of the Cross and Resurrection, in which Christ descends, in a first phase, to the ultimate limits of human weakness and impotence: indeed, he dies nailed to the Cross. e. gr. From the introduction of the Book it is apparent that God permitted this testing as a result of Satan's provocation. And if the Lord consents to test Job with suffering, he does it to demonstrate the latter's righteousness. 23. It must be recognized that they are very numerous, and one must express satisfaction at the fact that, thanks to them, the fundamental moral values, such as the value of human solidarity, the value of Christian love of neighbour, form the framework of social life and interhuman relationships and combat on this front the various forms of hatred, violence, cruelty, contempt for others, or simple "insensitivity", in other words, indifference towards one's neighbour and his sufferings. Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Copyright Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. This truth radically changes the picture of man's history and his earthly situation: in spite of the sin that took root in this history both as an original inheritance and as the "sin of the world" and as the sum of personal sins, God the Father has loved the only-begotten Son, that is, he loves him in a lasting way; and then in time, precisely through this all-surpassing love, he "gives" this Son, that he may strike at the very roots of human evil and thus draw close in a salvific way to the whole world of suffering in which man shares. Other user's assets All the assets in this file belong to the author, or are from free-to-use modder's resources; Upload permission You can upload this file to other sites but you must credit me as the creator of the file; Modification permission You are allowed to modify my files and release bug fixes or This union caused Paul to write, in the same Letter to the Galatians, other words as well, no less strong: "But far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world"(63). In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. For in suffering is contained the greatness of a specific mystery. And at the same time, during the Holy Year of the Redemption we recall the truth expressed in the Encyclical Redemptor Hominis: in Christ "every man becomes the way for the Church"(4). The mission of the only-begotten Son consists in conquering sin and death. For Max Bullying is repeated aggressive behavior that can be physical, verbal, or relational, take place in-person or online, at school, work, in the neighborhood, or even at home. 22, 4; Ier. Suffering as it were contains a special call to the virtue which man must exercise on his own part. And therefore Christ severely reproves Peter when the latter wants to make him abandon the thoughts of suffering and of death on the Cross(36). It completes that suffering just as the Church completes the redemptive work of Christ. The words: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt"(45), and later: "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done"(46), have a manifold eloquence. This interior maturity and spiritual greatness in suffering are certainly the result of a particular conversion and cooperation with the grace of the Crucified Redeemer. There are other criteria which go beyond the sphere of description, and which we must introduce when we wish to penetrate the world of human suffering. But already in itself it is sufficient argument why the answer to the question about the meaning of suffering is not to be unreservedly linked to the moral order, based on justice alone. But at the same time, moral suffering seems as it were less identified and less reachable by therapy. Christ's Resurrection has revealed "the glory of the future age" and, at the same time, has confirmed "the boast of the Cross": the glory that is hidden in the very suffering of Christ and which has been and is often mirrored in human suffering, as an expression of man's spiritual greatness. He particularly suffers when he a ought"in the normal order of thingsto have a share in this good and does not have it. Is. Nevertheless, the Good Samaritan of Christ's parable does not stop at sympathy and compassion alone. In this way, that world of suffering which in brief has its subject in each human being, seems in our age to be transformedperhaps more than at any other momentinto a special "world": the world which as never before has been transformed by progress through man's work and, at the same time, is as never before in danger because of man's mistakes and offences. Sir. It also incorporates natural law ethics, which is built on the belief that it is the very nature of humans created in the image of God and capable of morality, The more he shares in this love, man rediscovers himself more and more fully in suffering: he rediscovers the "soul" which he thought he had "lost"(77) because of suffering. But when it is completely accomplished and becomes the light of human life, it is particularly blessed. The theme of suffering - precisely under the aspect of this salvific meaning - seems to fit profoundly into the context of the Holy Year of the Redemption as an extraordinary Jubilee of the Church. And in the Letter to the Philippians he will even say: "I can do all things in him who strengthens me"(74). As though by a continuation of that motherhood which by the power of the Holy Spirit had given him life, the dying Christ conferred upon the ever Virgin Mary a new kind of motherhoodspiritual and universaltowards all human beings, so that every individual, during the pilgrimage of faith, might remain, together with her, closely united to him unto the Cross, and so that every form of suffering, given fresh life by the power of this Cross, should become no longer the weakness of man but the power of God. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City, in reference to the single-letter-named avenues that are located to the east And thinking of all those who by their knowledge and ability provide many kinds of service to their suffering neighbour, we cannot but offer them words of thanks and gratitude. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face"(25). This glory must be acknowledged not only in the martyrs for the faith but in many others also who, at times, even without belief in Christ, suffer and give their lives for the truth and for a just cause. It is heas the interior Master and Guidewho reveals to the suffering brother and sister this wonderful interchange, situated at the very heart of the mystery of the Redemption. Revelation, which is the word of God himself, with complete frankness presents the problem of the suffering of an innocent man: suffering without guilt. It is he himself who acts at the heart of human sufferings through his Spirit of truth, through the consoling Spirit. Precisely by means of his Cross he must accomplish the work of salvation. These words have as it were the value of a final discovery, which is accompanied by joy. 10, 1-7; cfr. At the same time, however, from this level of Christ the salvific meaning of suffering descends to man's level and becomes, in a sense, the individual's personal response. (14) Talia passi sunt tum Psaltes (cfr. He conquered the author of evil, Satan, and his permanent rebellion against the Creator. Ed has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, trained pastors and church planters on six continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you are suffering"(66). Is. 42 [41], 11; Ps. 77 [76], 3-11; Ps. Christ gives the answer to the question about suffering and the meaning of suffering not only by his teaching, that is by the Good News, but most of all by his own suffering, which is integrated with this teaching of the Good News in an organic and indissoluble way. WebAOL latest headlines, entertainment, sports, articles for business, health and world news. And we ask all you who suffer to support us. It can be said that this is "substitutive" suffering; but above all it is "redemptive". The mystery of the Churchthat body which completes in itself also Christ's crucified and risen bodyindicates at the same time the space or context in which human sufferings complete the sufferings of Christ. 22 [21], 17-21), Ieremias (cfr. At the time of its foundation, though much relieved from the harshest of the Penal Laws by the The Cross of Christ has become a source from which flow rivers of living water(52). 4, 19; Iob 30, 27; Lam. Even though Paul, in the Letter to the Romans, wrote that "the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now"(3), even though man knows and is close to the sufferings of the animal world, nevertheless what we express by the word "suffering" seems to be particularly essential to the nature of man. Nevertheless, the Apostle's experiences as a sharer in the sufferings of Christ go even further. Saint Paul speaks of various sufferings and, in particular, of those in which the first Christians became sharers "for the sake of Christ ". Gen. 37, 33-35), David expertus est (cfr. Cum autem careat lingua Hebraica verbo Graecae formae respondente, idcirco fortasse verbum id raro in versione a Septuaginta occurrit. We could say that man suffers because of a good in which he does not share, from which in a certain sense he is cut off, or of which he has deprived himself. 12. Ier. This is love for man, love for the "world": it is salvific love. This discovery is a particular confirmation of the spiritual greatness which in man surpasses the body in a way that is completely beyond compare. There were many messianic texts in the Old Testament which foreshadowed the sufferings of the future Anointed One of God. When we put the question in this way, we are always, at least to a certain extent, asking a question about suffering too. Suffering is, in itself, an experience of evil. This happens, as we know, at different moments in life, it takes place in different ways, it assumes different dimensions; nevertheless, in whatever form, suffering seems to be, and is, almost inseparable from man's earthly existence. And at the same time it has entered into a completely new dimension and a new order: it has been linked to love, to that love of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus, to that love which creates good, drawing it out by means of suffering, just as the supreme good of the Redemption of the world was drawn from the Cross of Christ, and from that Cross constantly takes its beginning. Within each form of suffering endured by man, and at the same time at the basis of the whole world of suffering, there inevitably arises the question: why? The Redeemer suffered in place of man and for man. Independently of this fact, it is a universal theme that accompanies man at every point on earth: in a certain sense it co-exists with him in the world, and thus demands to be constantly reconsidered. The more a person is threatened by sin, the heavier the structures of sin which today's world brings with it, the greater is the eloquence which human suffering possesses in itself. WebDiscover articles and insights by Ed Stetzer, Ph.D. on ChurchLeaders.com. Its purpose is also to strengthen goodness both in man himself and in his relationships with others and especially with God. So this circumstance showsperhaps more than any otherthe importance of the question of the meaning of suffering; it also shows how much care must be taken both in dealing with the question itself and with all possible answers to it. It is evident that it is not a question here merely of giving a description of suffering. Although sometimes defined as "an electronic version of a printed book", some e-books exist without a printed equivalent. "(90) For of the three travellers along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, on which there lay half-dead a man who had been stripped and beaten by robbers, it was precisely the Samaritan who showed himself to be the real "neighbour" of the victim: "neighbour" means also the person who carried out the commandment of love of neighbour. Working in this way has a great importance, especially if it involves undertaking larger tasks which require cooperation and the use of technical means. Suffering seems in some way to share in the characteristics of this nature. Magic realism often refers to literature in particular, with magical or supernatural phenomena presented in an otherwise real-world or mundane setting, commonly found in novels and A certain idea of this problem comes to us from the distinction between physical suffering and moral suffering. Through this parable Christ wished to give an answer to the question: "Who is my neighbour? WebThe Climate Museum Pop-Up Oct. 08, 2022 - Dec. 22, 2022 , Tuesdays-Saturdays, 12-6pm; Sundays, 12-5pm; The Climate Museum; 120 Wooster Street , Soho Ps. Truly, the Apostle first experienced the "power of the Resurrection" of Christ, on the road to Damascus, and only later, in this paschal light, reached that " sharing in his sufferings" of which he speaks, for example, in the Letter to the Galatians. 26. Even more than this description of the Passion, what strikes us in the words of the Prophet is the depth of Christ's sacrifice. For sufferingthey sayalways strikes a man as punishment for a crime; it is sent by the absolutely just God and finds its reason in the order of justice. WebHildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; c. 1098 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. Paul writes in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: "I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me"(72). In the wake of his victory over sin, he also takes away the dominion of death, by his Resurrection beginning the process of the future resurrection of the body. 27. II Redemptor Hominis, 14. In these people there is fulfilled what the first witnesses of the Passion and Resurrection said and wrote about sharing in the sufferings of Christ. And at the same time this Son who is consubstantial with the Father suffers as a man. The same Song of the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah leads us, through the following verses, precisely in the direction of this question and answer: "When he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant.make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities. Thus, with this openness to every human suffering, Christ has accomplished the world's Redemption through his own suffering. Thus the personal dimension of punishment is affirmed. For, at the same time, this Redemption, even though it was completely achieved by Christ's suffering, lives on and in its own special way develops in the history of man. But in general it can be said that almost always the individual enters suffering with a typically human protest and with the question "why". Christ said: "You did it to me". 2, 2. Together with Mary, Mother of Christ, who stood beneath the Cross(103),we pause beside all the crosses of contemporary man. The experience of this evil determined the incomparable extent of Christ's suffering, which became the price of the Redemption. 2. 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"; the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemption he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. This undoubtedly proves that people today pay ever greater and closer attention to the sufferings of their neighbour, seek to understand those sufferings and deal with them with ever greater skill. (18) Cfr. "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all": all human sin in its breadth and depth becomes the true cause of the Redeemer's suffering. This stopping does not mean curiosity but availability. Finally, this parable, through its essential content, will enter into those disturbing words of the Final Judgment, noted by Matthew in his Gospel: "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was in prison and you came to me"(95). If you have previously signed up for a Carleton360 account, login here.Do not create a new account, as you may experience delays and login issues while accounts are merged. 10. 12, 25. This "word of the Cross" completes with a definitive reality the image of the ancient prophecy. Christ, however, not only carries with himself the same question (and this in an even more radical way, for he is not only a man like Job but the only-begotten Son of God), but he also carries the greatest possible answer to this question. We can say that he gives himself, his very "I", opening this "I" to the other person. And this circumstance too clearly favours the attention it deserves during this period. If the suffering "is measured" by the evil suffered, then the words of the Prophet enable us to understand the extent of this evil and suffering with which Christ burdened himself. The opposite sentence will be imposed on those who have behaved differently: "As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me".". And slowly but effectively, Christ leads into this world, into this Kingdom of the Father, suffering man, in a certain sense through the very heart of his suffering. To the just, who ask when they did all this to him, the Son of Man will respond: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me"(96). "I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. The eloquence of the Cross and death is, however, completed by the eloquence of the Resurrection. For, whereas the existence of the world opens as it were the eyes of the human soul to the existence of God, to his wisdom, power and greatness, evil and suffering seem to obscure this image, sometimes in a radical way, especially in the daily drama of so many cases of undeserved suffering and of so many faults without proper punishment. To this grace many saints, such as Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and others, owe their profound conversion. It is a different dimension from the one which was determined and, in a certain sense, concluded the search for the meaning of suffering within the limit of justice. Through their sufferings, in a certain sense they repay the infinite price of the Passion and death of Christ, which became the price of our Redemption: at this price the Kingdom of God has been consolidated anew in human history, becoming the definitive prospect of man's earthly existence. It is like the opening of a certain interior disposition of the heart, which also has an emotional expression of its own. It is often awaited even as a liberation from the suffering of this life. The God of Revelation is the Lawgiver and Judge to a degree that no temporal authority can see. In it we must also pose anew the question about the meaning of suffering, and read in it, to its very depths, the answer to this question. This also explains the exhortation in the First Letter of Peter: "Yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God"(75). The person who is a " neighbour" cannot indifferently pass by the suffering of another: this in the name of fundamental human solidarity, still more in the name of love of neighbour. Ignatius Alphonso Few was the college's first president. 12, 10) confusi sunt. Paul writes: "That I may know him (Christ) and the power of his Resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead"(64). Christ is aware of this, and often speaks to his disciples of the sufferings and death that await him: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise"(35). For evil remains bound to sin and death. In 1854, the Atlanta Medical College, a forerunner of Emory University School of Medicine, was founded.On April 12, It is a question about the cause, the reason, and equally, about the purpose of suffering, and, in brief, a question about its meaning. 38 (37), 9. And it is as though Job has foreseen this when he said: "I know that my Redeemer lives ", and as though he had directed towards it his own suffering, which without the Redemption could not have revealed to him the fullness of its meaning. 1, 6-10), temptatio. And the more the Church feels the need to have recourse to the value of human sufferings for the salvation of the world. In the midst of what constitutes the psychological form of suffering there is always an experience of evil, which causes the individual to suffer. The institutions are very important and indispensable; nevertheless, no institution can by itself replace the human heart, human compassion, human love or human initiative, when it is a question of dealing with the sufferings of another. WebChristian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. Gold: Therapy One. In his suffering, sins are cancelled out precisely because he alone as the only-begotten Son could take them upon himself, accept them with that love for the Father which overcomes the evil of every sin; in a certain sense he annihilates this evil in the spiritual space of the relationship between God and humanity, and fills this space with good. The Second Vatican Council expressed this truth that "only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. 53, 3). (20) Cfr. 24. But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me"(85). WebThis website is for informational purposes only and not intended as medical advice or a substitute for a consultation with a professional healthcare provider. Nonetheless, this is only one area. He puts his whole heart into it, nor does he spare material means. The parable of the Good Samaritan is in profound harmony with the conduct of Christ himself. WebWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Suffering, in fact, is always a trialat times a very hard oneto which humanity is subjected. And also through suffering those surrounded by the mystery of Christ's Redemption become mature enough to enter this Kingdom. Christ goes towards his Passion and death with full awareness of the mission that he has to fulfil precisely in this way. Is. 16, 11; Ier. When Christ says: "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me? In this double aspect he has completely revealed the meaning of suffering. 41 [40], 10; Ps. 38 [37], 12; Ps. 1, 20. Is. Those who share in the sufferings of Christ preserve in their own sufferings a very special particle of the infinite treasure of the world's Redemption, and can share this treasure with others. In the Paschal Mystery Christ began the union with man in the community of the Church. WebEastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church.It is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the essentially divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, a balancing of cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by a Sacred Tradition, a catholic ecclesiology, a robust (6) Sic ut Agar timuit (cfr. WebAccording to an article by Western University on period poverty, a. However, the prayer in Gethsemane becomes a definitive point here. For it is above all a call. 3, 27 s.; cfr. In this meeting man "becomes the way for the Church", and this way is one of the most important ones. And even if we must use great caution in judging man's suffering as a consequence of concrete sins (this is shown precisely by the example of the just man Job), nevertheless suffering cannot be divorced from the sin of the beginnings, from what Saint John calls "the sin of the world"(29), from the sinful background of the personal actions and social processes in human history. For Satan had challenged before the Lord the righteousness of Job: "Does Job fear God for nought? In the vocabulary of the Old Testament, suffering and evil are identified with each other. The Gospel of suffering signifies not only the presence of suffering in the Gospel, as one of the themes of the Good News, but also the revelation of the salvific power and salvific significance of suffering in Christ's messianic mission and, subsequently, in the mission and vocation of the Church. These are "the poor in spirit" and "the afflicted" and "those who hunger and thirst for justice" and those who are "persecuted for justice sake", when they insult them, persecute them and speak falsely every kind of evil against them for the sake of Christ(33). Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished. They also foreshadow the words of Saint Paul: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin"(49). (12) Quibus iterum oppressi sunt nonnulli Psaltes (cfr. The Apostle Paul will say: "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"(87). Christ has overcome the world definitively by his Resurrection. In the messianic programme of Christ, which is at the same time the programme of the Kingdom of God, suffering is present in the world in order to release love, in order to give birth to works of love towards neighbour, in order to transform the whole of human civilization into a "civilization of love". But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed"(73). This evangelical outlook especially highlights the truth concerning the creative character of suffering. The field of human suffering is much wider, more varied, and multi-dimensional. (10) Quibus v. gr. Let us quote from the books of the Old Testament a few examples of situations which bear the signs of suffering, and above all moral suffering: the danger of death(5), the death of one's own children(6) and, especially, the death of the firstborn and only son(7); and then too: the lack of offspring(8), nostalgia for the homeland(9), persecution and hostility of the environment(10), mockery and scorn of the one who suffers(11), loneliness and abandonment(12); and again: the remorse of conscience(13), the difficulty of understanding why the wicked prosper and the just suffer(14), the unfaithfulness and ingratitude of friends and neighbours(15); and finally: the misfortunes of one's own nation(16). And he does this on the basis of his own opinion. Already in the Old Testament we note an orientation that begins to go beyond the concept according to which suffering has a meaning only as a punishment for sin, insofar as it emphasizes at the same time the educational value of suffering as a punishment. 42 (41), 10-11. And so the Church sees in all Christ's suffering brothers and sisters as it were a multiple subject of his supernatural power. When this body is gravely ill, totally incapacitated, and the person is almost incapable of living and acting, all the more do interior maturity and spiritual greatness become evident, constituting a touching lesson to those who are healthy and normal. This response, like others that reappear in different points of the Gospel, shows how profoundly Christ was imbued by the thought that he had already expressed in the conversation with Nicodemus: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"(39). These persecutions and tribulations will also be, as it were, a particular proof of likeness to Christ and union with him. In the Second Letter to the Corinthians we read: "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to things that are unseen"(68). Thus, in the Christian view, the reality of suffering is explained through evil, which always, in some way, refers to a good. In later times, the witnesses of the New Covenant, sealed in the Blood of Christ, will speak of this. Love is: also the fullest source of the answer to the question of the meaning of suffering. The opposite of salvation is not, therefore, only temporal suffering, any kind of suffering, but the definitive suffering: the loss of eternal life, being rejected by God, damnation. In so far as man becomes a sharer in Christ's sufferingsin any part of the world and at any time in historyto that extent he in his own way completes the suffering through which Christ accomplished the Redemption of the world. The motif of suffering and glory has a strictly evangelical characteristic, which becomes clear by reference to the Cross and the Resurrection. Highlights the truth of the mission that he gives himself, his very `` I,! Consultation with a definitive point here intended as medical advice or a substitute for a with. Completed by the eloquence of the Cross and the more the Church he asks the meaning of.... 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