A personal thought :Suffering

"Martha and Mary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asserting that while it is good to serve the needs of others, it is more important for us to discover why we serve others. Do we serve to express our love for Our Lord? The deepest and the most meaningful way to live our lives is to love and serve God more wholeheartedly."

Fr Philip Heng, S.J. (21/07/07)

Our own suffering, no matter how insignificant or mundane, small or trivial - could be even the pain of enduring anxieties and struggles students may have during the course of an examination, our everyday burdens of putting up with things we dislike doing, the hurts that stem from the thought that injustice had been done towards me, the moments you become lost and in the lurch of what to do, when times become unbearable and out of control - may well in fact be a blessing in disguise.

There were many awkward moments in my course of life when I felt a permanent surge of compassion, a sudden paradigm change after waking up one morning from a restless but deep sleep during which the day before had been somewhat torturing. This ‘phenomena’ let me to a conclusion that through our own sufferings we begin to see the sufferings of others (and to take a step further) thus we can be more effective in playing an instrumental role of easing the affliction of our neighbours, and to serve as a channel of peace, bringing solace to others.

Thinking in depth (by reflecting and observing people around me, and the life stories of notable figures from the past and in the present), I find that there is obviously something to this life changing suffering. If previously a person’s heart may be stone cold, suffering may well in fact be the flames which melt the snow to a warm loving embrace.

Therefore, on this journey, like many other great people or simple people alike, had gone through, we must be brave enough to face suffering head on, enduring the pain rather then running away from it, treating it as a friend rather then an enemy. This response to suffering I feel, makes the difference in my life, changing curses into blessings and transforming the pain caused by suffering into purified love.

Jesus had endured immense suffering on the cross for love of us. Let us take up our own crosses and follow him, doing the same to our neighbours.

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