Love is the answer to the question of suffering
All around us, people are in pain. Emotional, physical, relational, spiritual—whatever its source, the pain feels the same. Even the most riches people, highly spiritual men, sincere Church goers, devoted believers are in pain and experience suffering. Robert Schroeder in his book entitled “John Paul and the Meaning of Suffering” wrote that none of us can avoid the sting of suffering. Regardless of our age, race, religion, occupation, and IQ, suffering is always there following us around like black cloud that rains down misery. It hurts us and the one we love. Our late pope John Paul II would also affirm this saying that “ suffering is a condition of our membership in the human race. It co-exists with man in the world”. Indeed suffering is an inevitable reality that accompanies one upon his birth. It is like a shadow that which is embedded in our being, always following us. We cannot escape suffering, because to live is to suffer, according to the l;ate pope. No wonder many of us, from different walks of life, are asking why is this so? Why suffer and die? Why experience pain? Why we can’t live without being hurt? Why do others suffer much and other less? If God is so good, why I hurt so badly? Why? Why?
In the movie about John Paul II which entitled “Have No Fear,” the late pope beautifully answered this universal human question with so much affirmation and optimism. According to him, “Love is the answer to the question of suffering.” Certainly, John Paul is also a victim of this human condition. He knew what it is to suffer intensely. In his entire life, he’d been trying to counter all the things that had happened to him, even to the point of paralyzing him. In fact, death took his entire family. He worked in Poland’s stone quarries. Three years in his pontificate, he was shot by his assassin in Rome. Later in his life, he came to experience Parkinson’s disease. Yet, he endured all of these.. According to Schroeder, “he (JPII) taught his greatest lessons on suffering as he endured his own trials with faith, hope, love, courage, and dignity.” Despite the sufferings he encountered in his life and ministry, he was certain that all these happened because he loved.
The Essay on Meaning of Life by John Cottingham
Every person has questioned the meaning of life; It is an idea that can be traced through out the history of mankind. John Cottingham, author of “The Meaning of Life” is just one of the many who have tried to explain and simplify this complicated question. “The Meaning of Life” is a short but informative book that attempts to breakdown the meaning of life with as little religious intervention as ...
Accordingly, John Paul II said that we find insights into this deep question of faith only in Jesus’ revelation of God’s love, the ultimate source of the meaning of everything that exists—including suffering. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
Jesus became one of us to show us the great love of God, who wants us to be liberated from the evil of suffering. God indeed asks but one thing from us: to love. God sent Jesus Christ in order to teach us one thing: how to love. In the Gospel of John, our Lord taught us “…that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” In the same Gospel, Jesus also taught us about a genuine kind of love, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” In short, to genuinely love is to suffer for the other. This kind of love has manifested to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first letter of John, the evangelist taught us that “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In view of that, John Paul II wrote in his encyclical letter Salvifici Doloris (IV, 17), “Love is manifested, the infinite love both of the only-begotten Son and of the Father who for this reason gives his Son. This is love for man, love for the world: it is salvific love.” In other words, God sent his Son to sae the world from suffering, to save everyone from sin and eternal damnation. God suffered a lot in his passion and death on the cross because of his great love to us. However, George McDonald stated in the book entitled “Suffering” by Louis Evely that “ The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might suffer, but that their suffering might be like his.” Actually, suffering does not necessarily lead to love, but love lead away to suffering.
The Term Paper on Physical Suffering God Love Faith
... it, but permit it?" Does it affect God too? "Does god suffer when creatures whom god loves are suffering?" would provide the overall context entering or ... of those unique human gifts from our Creator, which Pope John Paul II depicts in his writing, The Ecological Crisis: A ... is in-motion within full expression of free-will, underlies John F. Haught's statement within Science And Religion that "Some ...
Then again, due to our human weakness and selfishness, we are being blinded and thus blame God in our misfortunes and sufferings. We often question him. “What did I do that God punish me like this?” Why God let my family be killed in the flood, when in fact I always go to mass?” Yet, we did not ask oourselves why God let himself be nailed in the cross. Why God as he is, he let himself suffer in the hands of men. Did we? We often put the blame to His shoulder, but He never blamed us in His sorrows. He instead forgave his oppressors, because he wanted us to be saved—simply because he loves us so much. Hopefully we will realize that our suffering could not compare to his. Like St. Paul, we would be able to see our own suffering as sharing to Christ’s suffering, so that we will share his resurrection, too (2Cor 1:15).
Louis Evely wonderfully said that “there is only one means to endure our suffering, and that is to understand his, to hook ours into his, to remember that ours is his.” And then with Mother Teresa we may recognize our suffering, though evil as it is, could become an act of love. According to her, “Your suffering is a great means of love, if you make use of it especially if you offer it for peace in the world, suffering in and of itself is useless, but suffering that is shared with the passion of Christ is a wonderful gift and a sign of love.” Let our suffering be an expression of our love to our neighbors and especially to God. Undeniably, love hurts; however, it also conquers all. As St. Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Love believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things.”
The Term Paper on Grand Rapids God Paul Israel
THEOLOGICAL CENTRE FOR ASIA ROMANS 9: 6-13 AN EXEGETICAL PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR CHUL WOO LEE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENTS OFBNT 524 CONTEMPORARY HERMENEUTICSBYJOSEPH TAN TIAN LENG SINGAPORE 30 NOVEMBER 2004 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 OVERVIEW OF ROMANS 9-11 1 TRANSLATION OF ROMANS 9: 6-13 3 INNER TEXTURE 4 Repetitive Texture and Pattern 4 Opening-Middle-Closing Texture and Pattern 6 ...
Finally, as I reflect on these words of Blessed John Paul II, I come to realize that, in fact, we suffer and experience pain because we truly love. We cried and grieved for someone who died, because we actually love that someone. We are ready to suffer for something (like our vocation and apostolate) because definitely we love that something. As a matter of fact, Jesus died on the cross; John Paul II forgave his assailant undeniably because they loved. In this way, we can say that love is truly the answer to the question of suffering.
