A God Who Understands Our Suffering From Experience

A few nights ago on our local Catholic radio station, I tuned in to hear Fr. John Corapi leading the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary. Something he said in his reflection on the 4th Mystery, The Carrying of the Cross, really caught my attention.

He talked about Jesus' journey to the cross--a long, painful one. So often when I think of Christ's suffering and death on the cross, I forget the immense suffering He endured before He was crucified: first he was scourged, a torture that tore the flesh from His body with each lash of the whip. Then, while His sores were fresh, they covered him with a cloak and dug a crown of thorns into his head. It was at that point, weak, beaten and bleeding, that they forced Him to carry a heavy cross to His own crucifixion.

Fr. Corapi drew this beautiful parallel: like Jesus, it is often when we've had about all we can take that we are faced with an even greater obstacle--when we are confronted with the cross.

I find this to be so true in my own life, especially lately. The cross rarely comes when I am strong and feeling capable of carrying it. Rather, it comes when I am weakest and most prone to dropping it. The cross can come in many forms: great temptations, character flaws, physical or emotional suffering, or spiritual dryness.

Rather than follow my usual instinct, which is to either run from the cross or to try and carry it by myself, I need to follow the example of Jesus and allow someone to help me carry it. And that "someone" must be Him--He knows my pain even more intimately than I do, and He knows how to help me get through it. The suffering of Jesus shows me that God is not one who is distant from our pain, but one who understands it from experience.