All pain has an end, all tears will be wiped away, one day through God Himself there will be consolation for us.Brothers, I understand that the suffering of this present time do not merit to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rm 8:18)
My beloved brothers and sister, we are walking in this world in a true vale of tears. It is clear that our life is not made only of suffering, it is clear that here we also experience moments of many graces, of blessings, of communion, of much love among us. Moments of joy, of happiness of commemorations, but none of us can deny that we were born suffering, in the midst of pain an d that life is surrounded by suffering and difficult moments.
Some times, we ask ourselves – “Why does a person suffer so much? Does the God of Heaven punish?” It is obvious no, God does not punish anyone! There exist many explanations for suffering, the first is that much of it is consequence of our sins. Many times, we suffer due to our own nature that is subject to pains, to illness and afflictions. Other times, we suffer because other persons cause us some pain; we even provoke suffering on others.
The fact is that during our journey, in our pilgrimage on the Earth, we pass through setbacks and difficulties. In certain moments these difficulties are worse, in others they are not as bad. But no one can deny that suffering happens in our life.
There are these unfortunate moments that knock on our door with pain that is more grave, with the loss of a dearly beloved; with things that are not certain for us, with unpleasant situations.
But, my brothers, we are not here to lament our scourges, we are here to encounter and to find in the word of God a meaning for what we suffer. The Word itself tells us that our suffering that we encounter in our life, whatever they may be, are not in proportion, nor have a comparision, nor is any measure of suffering on this Earth compared to the Glory that awaits us in Heaven.
In truth, when we pass through a storm, through great suffering that appears interminable it is only for us to remember that all pain has an end, that every tear will be wiped away, one day, through God Himself there will be consolation for us. We only need one thing, to suffer with dignity, to suffer with a spirit of accepting, of struggle of not turning back. Whatever resistance against this we may do will make our suffering even more painful, for when we resist the reality of suffering, we lose of the vision of the salvific meaning that our suffering creates in us.
What can we do is to see our suffering and the suffering of others that are around us. Many times we find that we pass through great pain in the world, however, the pain of many brothers and sisters is much greater than our pain. There are many people that can stand firm, continuing forward, and we many times, cannot even stand the slightest suffering in life.
Therefore, my brothers, we need fiber, we need to temper ourselves with the values of Heaven, that we may have the conviction and the certainty that the love of God for us is great. Do not forget: whatever suffering that we suffer in this life is not in proportion, nor even in comparison, nor has even any form of similarity with that Glory with that good which awaits us in Heaven.
God Bless you!
translated from Portuguese