Martyrdom of John the Baptist
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Today, August 29, is the day we celebrate the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist.
John the Baptist suffered and was put to death by King Herod for being faithful to the truth about marriage and family. In Matthew Chapter 11, when John was suffering in prison – he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?” Many Fathers of the Church think John sent his disciples to Jesus, not because he doubted but because they doubted.
After all, our own suffering and that of a loved one can be one of the greatest temptations to doubt God’s existence or his goodness.
If Jesus was God, then why did he allow John, this innocent righteous man to suffer and why didn’t Jesus do something about it?
Why does God allow the suffering of the innocent? What is the meaning and purpose of suffering anyway?
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Jesus did not come to take away suffering. He entered into it and transformed it from the inside giving it a two-fold meaning and purpose.
First, suffering empties us of all that blocks us from receiving God’s life, all that prevents us from becoming like Him.
Remember – the purpose of life is to share in God’s life and to become like Him. The Son of God became man so that we could become sons and daughters of God. To be like God and act like God.
Well, there is a lot in me that is not like God and is actually preventing me from being and acting like his son: vices, selfishness, irrational fears, presumption…
Suffering empties us of our vices, making room for God to fill us with his life; and suffering increases our faith hope and love, making us more like God.
If you are suffering, then God is emptying you – not to destroy you, but so that he can fill you. He never empties us without filling us.
So do not despair. Trust Him and be filled by Him.
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The Second purpose of suffering is to help Jesus save souls.
The greatest activity of God is saving and recreating the world through His suffering and death. Now he is inviting you to help him save souls.
In Col. 1:24 St. Paul said: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake
And in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.
What could be lacking in the suffering of Jesus? Our participation!
Jesus is inviting us to help him rescue sinners from Hell and Help souls to holiness by prayer and sacrifice
St Faustina suffered with undiagnosed TB. Jesus said to her:
My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone… I will now instruct you on what your sacrifice shall consist of, in everyday life, so as to preserve you from illusions. You shall accept all sufferings with love. Do not be afflicted if your heart often experiences repugnance and dislike for sacrifice. All its power rests in the will, and so these contrary feelings, far from lowering the value of the sacrifice in My eyes, will enhance it. Diary 1767
What you
● Did not choose
● Do not like
● Cannot change
● Accept with Trust
● Offer with love for the conversion and holiness of others
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At this point you might be thinking, this is all fine, but why does God allow the innocent to suffer?
God invites all his sons and daughters to help him save souls through suffering, especially the innocent. Jesus was God and he saved us through suffering. Mary, the All-Holy Mother of God is the only human person with no sin, original or personal, and she was the first follower of Jesus who was invited to help him save souls by suffering.
We’ve seen her supreme moment of agony captured in one of the many artistic expressions of the pietà – Mary holding the dead Christ. At the presentation, Simeon prophesied that her heart would be pierced because of her son. And yet nowhere in Scripture do we read that she was actually, physically pierced. Who was pierced? Jesus was. Did it hurt Him, did it cause Him to suffer, when the soldier’s lance pierced his heart? No, Jesus didn’t feel it. He was already dead. He couldn’t hurt anymore. He had already cried out “it is finished.” His work of saving the world through suffering was over. But someone else felt that wound. Mary’s heart was pierced. Mary suffered from Jesus’ injuries even when Jesus didn’t. Mary made up what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ before they even took Him off the cross.
Mary understands what agony it is to watch an innocent loved one suffer. If you are experiencing this, then give yourself to Mary. Ask her to replace your thoughts, feelings and actions with hers. She will not leave you alone. She will help you.
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Today I was experiencing a particular suffering.
In prayer this morning, the Lord said to me: “Well, Michael, the pain is there, what are you going to do with it? There are people you care deeply for who are far away from me. You are afraid for them. Are you going to waste your cross? It could be used for them. Your cross is necessary for them to open up to me.”
How did I respond? “Well, Lord, I don’t like this, but you seem content to leave me with it, so I offer it up for this person and that one.”
When we can’t fix stuff in the lives of our loved ones, we should not lose hope, because we have recourse to an infinite power – the Cross of Jesus. Unite your cross, your suffering to the Cross of Jesus for the needs of your loved ones. Jesus is inviting you to participate with Him in their rescue through your suffering.