Suffering comes in many forms. Pain, illness, loss, and death of a loved one all cause grief and sorrow. Turning to God during troubled times can be very difficult. Let the words of the Saints help you as you travel on your spiritual journey.
Come to me, all who are weary and burdeoned,
and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:18
1. I’m suffering very much, but am I suffering very well?
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2. Love that does not know of suffering is not worthy of the name.
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3. I am prepared to suffer more. I know the Lord is with me. He has some plan for me. How can I requite His kindness.
St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception
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4. I will willingly abandon this miserable bed to hunger and suffering provided that my soul may have its ordinary nourishment.
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5. O my Jesus, give me Your strength, when my weak nature rebels against the distress and sufferings of this life of exile, and enable me to accept everything with prosperity and peace.
With my whole strength, I cling to Your merits Your sufferings, Your atonement, and Your tears so that I may be able to cooperate with you in the work of Salvation.
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6. The Passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows, but it is also an ocean of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this ocean. Dive into its depth. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach the bottom
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7. Mary’s sorrow was less when she saw her only Son crucified, than it is now at the sight of man offending Him by sin.
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8. The virgin may suitably be called a blooming rose. Just as the gentle rose is placed among thorns, so the gentle Virgin was surrounded by sorrow.
9. Suffering gladly borne for others convert more people than sermons.
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10. Suffering is the greatest treasure on earth; it purifies the soul. In suffering, we learn who our true friend is.
11. Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it should not be an endless preoccupation. You must dwell also on the glad remembrance of God’s loving kindness; otherwise, sadness will harden the heart and lead it more deeply into despair.
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12. In every disappointment, great or small, let your heart fly directly to your dear Savior, throwing yourself against every pain and sorrow, Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.
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13. Learn to suffer a little for the love of God without telling everyone about it.
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14. Suffering, no matter how difficult it may be, when compared to the good that is accomplished, makes every pain a joy for the soul.
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15. Love without suffering does not exist.
16. He will either shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
17. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfection. And in suffering the soul practices and acquires virtue and becomes pure, wiser and more cautious.
18. When sorrows and misfortunes, physical or spiritual, afflict you, turn to your Guardian Angel with strong trust and he will help you.
19. Pain, suffering and sorrow are but the kiss of Jesus-a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.
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20. All the science of the saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.
21. We should strive to keep our hearts open to the suffering and wretchedness of other people, pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the Spirit of God.
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22. To suffer and be happy through suffering, to have ones feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough path of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father’s right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels–this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth.
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23. Those who pray and suffer, leaving action for others, will not shine here on earth; but what a radiant crown they will wear in the Kingdom of Life! Blessed be the “apostolic of suffering!”
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24. Suffering is transformed and elevated when in these moments we become aware of God’s closeness and solidarity. This is the certainty that gives inner peace and spiritual joy to the person who suffers generously and offers his pain as a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12.)
25. My Lord Jesus Christ, two graces I beg of you before I die. The first is that in my lifetime I may feel in my soul and in my body, as far as possible, that sorrow which you, sweet Jesus, endured in the hour of your bitter passion. The second is that I may feel in my heart, as far as possible, that abundance of love with which you, Son of God, were inflamed, so as willing to endure so great a passion for us sinners.
St. Francis Assisi, Prayer for Holy Sorrow
