In the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. There are those who,
faced with the suffering of life, rebel against God and blame him for all their misfortunes.
They say to him: Why have you done this to me?. Some demand health from him, as if it were an
acquired right, and they say: If I didn't have children to take care of… If I were alone, but I
have a family to feed and I have many problems to solve and many plans to carry out. It seems that
they tell God that they are indispensable beings in the world. Some scream, saying: Why? I'm good.
Why are you punishing me? Oh God, do not make my relatives spend money... And God does not respond,
and is silent and forgives and patiently endures all insults and misunderstandings.
God does not have fun or have a great time watching you suffer, as if your pain and your
illness were whims for his entertainment during free time. On the other hand, he feels very happy,
when he sees that you develop your potential through pain and mature and become better and
happier. The worst misfortune that can happen to a man is not to be sick, but to be a person who can
do "nothing" and when he dies, feels empty inside for having wasted his life. But if you love and
offer your pain, even if you are in a wheelchair, your life will be full of meaning and you will be
fulfilled as a person and you will be happy. There is a tale that is the case of an elderly couple,
who really wanted to have a child. After several years of sterility, they finally had a child.
The day after his birth, an angel of God visited them and told them that they could ask anything,
that God would grant it. After much thought, they asked for their son to never have suffering
or illness in his life. The angel told them that God could grant it, but think it over, because,
in his opinion, it was not in his best interest. But they insisted so much that, in the end,
God granted it. And the tale says that, happily, these elderly spouses did not live long enough to
see their son grow up, who became the greatest tyrant that existed in the entire region.
Why? Because suffering leads us to God, who is love. It makes us more sensitive to the suffering
of others and helps us to mature personally. The man who has not suffered will not be mature
enough to truly love and will be tougher and more insensitive to the pain of others.
For this reason, an old quote says: "who does not know about pain, does not know about love".
Suffering is a treasure from God, an instrument of God to draw us closer to Him,
if we know how to accept it with love. Otherwise, it can be a means of despair for those who have
no faith and only think about ending everything as soon as possible. Someone has said that the
good sick are like gas stations, where those who want to fill their empty hearts with love go.
Talking with good sick people helps the healthy to see life from another perspective,
because sooner or later we will all go through disease. The good sick are helpers of humanity
and help as missionaries in the great task of the salvation of the world. Suffering is
an important part of human life. There is no one who, sooner or later, does not participate in it.
For this reason, we must learn to carry our cross each day, as Jesus tells us,
and know how to offer it to give it a supernatural value. Therefore, it is important to learn to
have a spirit of sacrifice and not always seek pleasure for pleasure. Our Mother the Virgin Mary,
in many of her apparitions, speaks to us of offering voluntary sacrifices for the conversion
of sinners. At Fatima she said to Lucia: "Pray and make sacrifices for sinners, because many souls go
to hell, because there is no one who sacrifices or prays for them" - August 13th, 1917. This spirit
of sacrifice for the conversion of sinners was learned very well by the three little shepherds.
Sometimes they gave their food to sheep or poor children or they ate bitter acorns or they did
not drink water in the heat and they said: "Oh Jesus, it is for your love and for the conversion
of sinners." Obviously, suffering by itself is worthless, if it is not offered with love
and for love. But when it is offered to God with love, it has great redemptive value in union with
the merits of Jesus. Therefore, we must think of so many people who are away from God and who
are in danger of eternal damnation for their own sins. But, if we offer our prayers and sacrifices
for them, God can grant them extraordinary graces, which can achieve their conversion and salvation.
If Saint Augustine didn't have a mother as holy as Saint Monica, perhaps he would never have
been converted or become the great saint that we all know. If you were more generous with God and
offered all your sufferings and illnesses for the salvation of your family, perhaps God could
have saved some ancestor of yours or a current relative who walked away from God many years ago.
Prayer crosses the boundaries of time and space. Pray for all your ancestors and family,
present and future. There are more than enough reasons to offer everything you suffer. And how
many can be saved by your generosity! Offer your pain to God and He will bless you and your family!
In the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.