Posted by 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Word Alive by Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD — September 3, 2023
Photo: Stations of the Cross at the Hill, Butembo, North Kivu, Congo
A lot of love stories end with the words: “And they lived happily ever after.” Is that really true? There’s a guy who got married expecting to have a lasting marital bliss.
After a couple of years, he was asked by the priest who solemnized his wedding how things were getting along. He replied, “Father, I’ve found out that there are three rings in marriage.” The priest said, “What could they be?” “Father, they are: engagement ring, wedding ring, suffe-RING.” (For some, there’s a “tiri-ring”).
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The subject of this 22nd Sunday’s gospel is about suffering. Jesus tells his disciples that he, the Son of God and Messiah, will have to suffer grievously and be put to death” (Mt 16,21), something which Peter could not fathom. Pain and sufferings are part and parcel of human life in this “valley of tears” called earth.
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There are the physical, mental, emotional and psychological sufferings like loneliness of a solo parent, the anguish of caring a bedridden parent, struggling with financial problems, the drudgery of work aggravated by an unfriendly atmosphere like in an office.
As an existentialist philosopher puts it: “Suffering is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived.”
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Jesus adds, “If you want to be my follower, you must carry your own cross” (Mt 16,24). “Carrying your cross” does not mean masochism or fatalism. Meaning, you just have to accept your fate and not do something to remedy it. Jesus himself pitied those who were sick of fever, dropsy, blindness, crippled, and healed them.
We, too, can avoid our sicknesses by shunning unhealthy lifestyle like cigarette smoking which causes lung cancer, drinking in excess or eating food dripping with cholesterol.
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But if the sufferings are inevitable or beyond human control like the devastating natural calamities or the pains of old age, the Christian attitude is that we offer them to God, uniting them with the sufferings of Christ so they become meritorious, redemptive, and not wasted.
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ASK YOURSELF: Am I doing something to help remedy or alleviate the pain and sufferings of the people around me like donating blood to the Red Cross, visiting the sick, or praying for them? Do I cause the sufferings of my family, co-workers, neighbors, and others by my bad traits and behavior?
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There would be less pain and misery if people knew how to respect the rights of others, if they were less selfish and more concerned of the needs and feelings of their fellowmen; in short, if only we live up to the teachings of the Lord by loving one another.
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LAUGH WITH GOD. Once a distraught man knelt in front of a life-size crucifix and poured out his problems and sufferings.
He was startled when the Lord suddenly spoke from the cross: “Alright, stop crying now. I know how you feel. Let’s exchange places. I’ll carry all your sufferings and you hang here on the cross, 24 hours a day!
The man replied: “Well… you see, Lord, I was not really serious. Thank you na lang, Lord… Bye.”
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Marriage Stages in Songs: Newly-married woman—“Papuri sa Diyos. Papuri sa Diyos.” After 10 years of suffering—“Panginoon, maawa ka sa akin.” After 5 years—“Kunin mo, O Dios .”
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