“Sufferings of the present time and not worthy to be compared with the glory to come  that will be revealed in us.’


There is no one here that will not suffer.  There was never a man who never suffered nor will there ever be a man who will not suffer.  We will all suffer sometime in our life, some more, some less. 

Recently, I had dinner at a family home.  The father dished his young 5 year-old son a plate of food.  Unfortunately, he put the peas too close to the applesauce. Big mistake.  The boy screamed a complaint, “I can’t eat this.  You put the peas too close to the applesauce.“  That was a moment of suffering.  A conflict of wills.  We want it our way or no way.   Granted, peas too close to applesauce is a small thing and hopefully we have overcome this suffering in ourselves, but in other ways, small and big, we suffer still.  A dent in my new car; an unkind word spoken against me; the loss of work, the death of a dear friend; cancer.

But in our moments of trial we must recall, all sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.   

St. Joseph Calasanctius says, “to gain heaven all toils are trivial.”  He does not say some or many, but all.  All toils of earth, all pains and tribulation, are nothing when compared to heaven. 

After contemplating all manner of men, St. Alphonsus Liguori makes the observation, “How amazing when it comes to temporal goods worldly people try to get as much as they can, the finest things they can; but when it comes to eternal goods they say, 'A little corner in heaven will do.'”

This way of thinking is not that of the saints.  They are content with whatever they receive; and they will patiently suffer the loss of earthly pleasures in storing up treasures for heaven.

One day St. Gertrude asked our dear Savior, “How can I most please Thee?”  “My dear daughter,” replied our blessed Lord, “you can do nothing more pleasing to me than to submit patiently to all the tribulations that come your way.”   Submit patiently... He tells her, meaning do not complain or become disgruntled in your moment of trial.

Ven. John of Avila used to say, “One 'blessed be God’ said in adversity is more valuable than a thousand thanks said in prosperity.”

Oh, that we could carry about us the constant thought, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us.”

For then we would not look upon suffering as something to escape, get rid of, avoid at all costs.
 Modern man runs away from suffering, he tries in earnest to escape suffering as from some nightmarish dream.  And if modern man runs away from suffering it is because he has first run away from his Christ.

For if we truly understood suffering, understood the good it does us, we would value it as something to possess, something to embrace with tenderness.  For by patiently enduring our crosses we obtain, as it were, heavenly currency whereby we may purchase a glorious crown for all eternity.

Blessed Angela of Foligno says that if mankind truly understood the worth of suffering then suffering itself would become a target of robbery.  People would want to steal it from another;  take it from another so as to profit from its ownership. 

Said another way, in a more ideal world, a world intent upon Eternity, men would not so much look to kill pain with pain killers but trap them, tame them, and make them a pet and companion. 
 
Of course, this must be taken in the right way.  In the life of St John Bosco we read that he suffered terrible migraine headaches especially when he preached.  One day, his friend and companion, brother Rua, noticed don Bosco suffering more than usual.  Brother Rua, wishing to comfort his friend, begged God, “grant me his suffering if only so that his preaching can be more successful.”  No sooner had the prayer been said than the creases in don Bosco’s forehead became smooth, his eyes widened and the sweat stopped streaming from his brow.  But simultaneously, brother Rua, went down to his knees, pressing clutched fists against his furrowed forehead saying, “O Lord, take it away, take it away!“

And the Savior heard brother Rua’s prayer.  And the brow of don Bosco became creased once more, his eyes squinted again, and beads of sweat resumed their flow.

Afterwards, don Bosco admonished brother Rua, “you ought not ask for suffering you do not understand but rather embrace those which the good God sends you, knowing that this is your proper portion and dosage needed for your perfection".

Finally, and I will end with this, I give you a last treasure from the science of the saints.

St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi knowing the value of suffering desired to prolong her life rather than to die and go to heaven.  When asked why, she would respond, “because in heaven no one can suffer anymore.”