“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and
though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing.
(1 Cor. 13:3)”
With
all this talk of suffering and sacrifice as a means to grow closer to God, to
overcome sin, to follow Christ and to be made worthy of the kingdom of God, one
might think, “Well, then, why aren’t all the poor, the disabled and the ill
immediately shooting up to Heaven, since they are in constant suffering?” My
personal answer is simply, “In some degree, they are.” After all, Jesus did
say, “For to such belong the kingdom of God.” And again, he said, “It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of Heaven.” Must we enumerate the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ words
in the Beatitudes to prove it further? “Blessed are the poor …”
What
are we really asking about suffering, though? We really want to know the motive
and the essence of suffering. “What makes suffering worth any value at all?”
Why is suffering a means to obtain grace, virtue, and glory, even eternal life,
first for ourselves and then for others? Is the Blessed Trinity a sadistic,
blood thirsty God, who only longs for blood and tears?
Certainly
not. “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ (Matt.
12:7)” This is what Jesus told the Pharisees, as they judged sinners as
worthless, and as they worked towards outward show of holiness, while ignoring care for hurting people. In another
place he would tell them, “But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue
and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to
have done, without neglecting the others. (Luke 11:42 NRSVCE)”
We
see in Christ’s teaching, then, the need of love above all things, as the
foundation to all else we do: “I desire mercy.” It is not the suffering itself
or the sacrifice in and of itself. It is love that gives any credit at all, any
merit, any value, to our sufferings and our sacrifices. “If I have not love, I
am nothing … it profits me nothing,” as St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians. St. Thérèse
de Lisieux wrote, “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice,
here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right
and doing it all for love.” “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant,
count as nothing,” that Doctor of the Church wrote in another place.
God takes pleasure not in our pain,
but in our love, through our faith and hope. When he sees our acts of love, in
self-sacrifice, no matter how small or glorious, he takes great pleasure in that love – our love for others and for God, who is our life. These are pure
offerings, through the one, holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, who
is love itself. “Father … All life, all holiness comes from you, through your
Son,” the priest prays at Holy Mass. “For God is love. (1 John 4:8b)”
And
here we come to the turning point, the center of love – Christ himself. In him,
we find something quite different from the “love” the rest of the world knows.
The love of and from God is something much greater than previously known. That
is, love demands sacrifice. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son. (John 3:16)” “In this is love,
not that we loved God but that
he loved us and sent his Son to
be the atoning sacrifice for our
sins. (1 John 4:10 NRSVCE)”
Therefore,
Christ commanded us to love others as he has loved us; this is the new
commandment. Now that he has shown us what true love, the love of God, looks
like, he wants us to do the same. He wants us to “live in love, as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph.
5:2 NRSVCE)” Thus, St. John could write clearly, “We know love by this, that he laid down his
life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. (1
John 3:16 NRSVCE)” Above all these last writings, Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John
15:13 NRSVCE)”
Christ’s
new command is woven throughout the rest of his teachings: feed the hungry;
clothe the naked; care for the sick; die to your self; take up your cross; lose
your life. Can these be construed as anything but acts of self-sacrifice in
love of God and neighbor? In this Way, we can be little Christs (the
Greek meaning of ‘Christians’) by offering our lives up to God in love for the
good of others, even their salvation.
The
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary just passed (June 28th).
Let us go to our Mother, who is so pure, and learn from her. She led a very
humble life, as a wife and mother. She gave up her reputation. She gave up her
desires for comfort. She instead was the first disciple of Christ in love, by
his grace, going even to the foot of the Cross. There she suffered a great
martyrdom, and a sword pierced through her own heart, too. (Luke 2:35) She
offered herself as a living sacrifice in the most perfect of ways, as an
obedient daughter of the Lord, as his handmaid. From sweeping the floor and
caring for her child to suffering alongside the Savior of the world, she gave
her self in love to God perfectly. Her Immaculate Heart is the highest model of
love after Christ our Lord, who laid down his life for us.
“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony. (Col. 3:14 NRSVCE)”
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse
to thee.
Amen. +
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