Human Pains And Christ

Over the course of life, one can be exposed to different kinds of pain, be it physical or emotional, tolerable or debilitating, temporary or recurring, quantifiable or unspeakable.  Pain transcends the differences that separate one from another.  It tends to bring one close to God although many choose to be near their medical doctors and counselors instead.  In some cases, unspeakable pains can distance one from God.

Pain is part of suffering.  Knowing the causes does not necessarily alleviate it nor shorten its duration. Taking medications and having surgical procedures may help.

It is common to seek treatment for pain but uncommon to meditate on its purpose.  Pain reminds one quickly that one is human, not a super being that can keep on going and going.  It slows one down, and humiliates even those who are strong and gifted.  In this helpless state, one reaches out for assistance.

Christ is the first among healers.  To Him, death was merely a nap.  Not only did the Son of God raise Lazarus from the dead [1], He Himself resurrected [2].  Coming back from being dead is not limited to biblical events of the past; people who had been declared dead medically in this age but who had come back to life often have a story to tell, usually not what caused their deaths but what happened while they were dead.  They are messengers for the living.  Their unspoken message collectively points to the insignificance of death compared to the Heavenly existence that lies beyond this earthly existence.

Despite the clarity of their message, it is often difficult for the living to see the joy that awaits in midst of pain and tribulation.  Christ is present in all worldly sufferings.  Accepting them is accepting Christ.  One who rejects suffering by choosing to end one's natural life rejects Christ.  By doing so, one may face a different eternity, an eternity that reminds the soul of life's pains without the presence of Christ.  One who accents to or assists in the death on behalf of another breaks one of God's Ten Commandments [3].

It is not wise to disobey God.  It was disobedience that brought suffering to man's first parents and their descendants [4]; yet, it is the unspeakable pains and tribulations that the Son of God and the Mother of God accepted with humility and love that allowed them to overcome Sin and eternal death on behalf of man, that allowed man to live in eternal joy.

The door to eternal joy is not a revolving one, entering into the door of sin and exiting from the door of mercy as some would have people believe.  It is a door of pain and suffering, unique to each individual.  The new Catholic Church today no longer speaks of suffering, even though its foundation rests upon suffering out of love without blame.

A church that does not speak of pain has no God just as a person who is unable to internalize pain has no comprehension of Christ.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/john11.htm, 1-44.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/24, 1-12.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/exodus/20, 13
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 1-20.